Fairies Are Real
by DrytotheDen
Summary: Asuna never really believed her grandma's words about fairies being real. She didn't believe in such perfect fantasies. Her life had always been lonely and dull, but then that all changes when she meets the young prince of the fairies, Kirito. Despite being a prince he hasn't had much better luck in his life. Can the two change their broken fates and learn to love one and another?
1. Bedtime stories, Beliefs, and Boredom

**A/N: So I did a lot of editing cuz I looked back at what I wrote and cringed …if you read this before you might see that the quality has in fact improved some, though the main plot still remains the same no worries, parts will be changed, grammar will be better (hopefully), and it just over all flows more naturally…if you are reading this just now lucky you and no worries just ENJOY**

**Disclaimer: You know what this is so don't make me actually write it out.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Bedtime stories, Beliefs, and Boredom

I don't remember much about my grandmother…I was very young when she passed on, however of what I do remember always makes me smile or laugh. I know that after she passed on things got harder and I became the very meaning of the word lonely…I still am…However there is one memory that won't ever seem to fade nor does it make the greatest amount of sense, I suppose that's to be expected though because you see…my grandmother always was a rather… exotic woman…

* * *

"_Now listen closely Asuna…" Asuna's grandmother said leaning forward towards the young girl so as to insure she had her full attention, "People will always say that fairies are nothing but myths, however I'll tell you right now; that's a lie. They are as real as you and me. Don't let anyone convince you differently." She said, face full with passion and not an ounce of doubt in her words. She was dead serious and determined not to let the girl's cold hearted mother fill her with false logic and reason. She would not fail this child like she failed the child's mother._

"_But Grandma…If they are real how come no one has ever seen one?" Asuna replied as doubtful as ever, she always was a child that went more for facts than fairy tales._

"_Because fairies don't take kindly to those who state them a myth and well…" Her grandmother cut off a look of hesitation and sadness._

"_Well what?"_

"_It's a sad story maybe I'll tell you when you're older…Anyway the point is because of these rather tragic events between humans and fairies…" she trailed off for only a moment, but that was all Asuna needed to jump in with the questions._

"_What tragic events? You haven't told me anything about any tragic events!" she interrupted with a frustrated tone, but soon resorting to pouting after as her grandmother didn't seem to be budging._

"_As I said it's a story for when you're older…if you still believe in them by then that is" She responded with a smile._

"_Ah geez grandma I'm six years old! I'm a big girl now!"_

_Laughter sounded through the air_

"_Yes your all grown up I see…then maybe we should start looking into more proper chores and a job for the big girl no?" While the sarcasm was clear in her voice, Asuna was much too little to understand and missed it entirely._

"_What?! No I take it back, I'm halfway." The little girl interjected trying her best to save herself from the horrors of such a thing as responsibilities._

"_Halfway?" Her grandmother asked with a single raised eyebrow._

"_I'm not big and I'm not little! I'm halfway!" was the clever response._

"_Oh, I see…so you found yourself a loophole."_

"_What's a loophole?" that was a good question...the kind her grandmother figured was too complex for a six year old to understand the answer to._

"_Ah…Never mind that, as I was saying before ; since those events no one has seen a fairy, the story is that they left back to their own world and refuse to interact with humans anymore…" The girls grandmother sighed as she looked out the window feeling the heavy burden of what her ancestors did so many years before, "Every action has a consequence Asuna, remember that." She stated with a serious face as the little girl just tilted her head curiously._

"_But if you can't see them then how do you know that they exist!" was her only response still doubting her grandmother's words._

"_Because the world is filled to the brim with magical things we can't see or explain, they can be as simple as new life or as great as a miracle, Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing. " _

"_When's the last time someone saw a fairy then?" Asuna inquired finally getting into the idea._

"_A long long time ago…generations before you or me, long enough for people to write them off as myths and forget about them…" she explained her voice sounding dark, like the words were poison. _

"_Then why do you remember them?"_

"_I don't, I have nothing solid to base this belief off of other than the words of my mother, as she had her mother before and so on…I just chose to believe."_

"_Oh, then I'll believe with you grandma!" _

* * *

After that she smiled, patted me on the head and I went home. My mother being a workaholic was and still is to this day never home, my father left long before my birth, leaving only my grandmother to take care of me throughout the day. However that was the last conversation I ever had with her, that night grandma had a stroke and after laying on the cold floor all night, passed on.

It was soon after that that I decided there couldn't be any possible way that something so perfectly magical as "fairies" could exist in such a cold world, Reality is what it is…I didn't have the time or the want to waste it on thinking about fantasies…Because the cold reality was my grandmother was dead, and I was so very lost and lonely… I still am.

* * *

**Years later within the hidden realm of Alfheim**

A loud sigh could be heard throughout the massive room, two guards stood on either side of the room's exit. One rolled their eyes while the other just shook his head, this had to be at least the fifteenth time in the last hour that the boy had done that.

"What's the point of having royalty? All we do is sit around and let other people do everything else for us…Do you have any idea how boring that is?" the young black haired teen (sprawled across a massive and rather elegant bed in the middle of the room) complained, mostly to himself as he stared up at the ceiling, for what seemed like the millionth time that evening.

"You know what kid, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me…Do you know what it's like to be broke and have to do everything for yourself and sometimes others? " came the slightly irritable response of one of the guards, though if you looked closely you would catch the sight of him holding back a smile. He could understand just from guarding over the boy 24/7 that his life was indeed rather dull.

"How bout we trade places, I'd rather be broke then sit around for the rest of my life." the teen responded as he sat up to look the guard in the eye.

He was an interesting guard. Though that was to be expected as the Prince always seemed to surround himself with the most unique kinds of fairies. Normal fair folk in his company was apparently too much to ask for of the strange Prince, this of course meant the personal guards he selected himself were never far from such criteria's. While this guard could be seen as normal at first glance, his rather exotic behavior and little piece of rebellion to the uniform (a red bandanna tied around his reddish hair) would tell you otherwise. Not to mention that he's never afraid to speak his opinion.

"Nah your life is a little to…fanciful for me."

There was a moment of silence as they both just stared each other down "Klein…" the teen started breaking the silence, "One of these days I'm going to throw you into the dungeon." He finished with a playful smile that few ever get to witness; of course it wasn't a real threat. After all who would throw one of their only friends into the dungeon? If anything that would only add to his boredom.

"Sure you are." Klein agreed playing along, "Just remember the day you do you'll lose the one person you dump all your petty burdens on…such as boredom."

"Non-sense I'll still have Agil here to drive insane." He replied with a false death glare still worthy enough to send chills down the average fairies back; the guards, now immune to it, had seen it multiple times before and were at first one of those unfortunate few. It didn't help that the young prince's eyes were gray in color, nor the fact that he seemed to love the color black seeing as they had yet to see him wear any other color. Even so it was quite the dent to their pride back then, to be shaken by an eight year olds glare…Yet neither of the two had left his side since…There was just something about the young Prince before them that drew everyone in and made them want to stay at his side.

"I think I'll throw you in there today" the teen continued with a nod of his head and a straight face like he just came to a serious decision.

"You said that yesterday, and the day before that too." Klein responded, laughter in his eyes.

"Whatever."

"Ah Kirito, your birthday is tomorrow correct? You'll be turning seventeen, any big plans for the celebration?" The other guard piped in, mostly because this conversation was well beyond old to him. He was a massive man...it wasn't that he was fat in fact he was very fit, he just seemed to tower over every one and was rather big.

"Come on Agil do you really need confirmation from him? Of course he's probably planning something outrageous! This is Kirito we're talking about, trouble follows him everywhere." Klein stated with a shake of his head.

"Hey, Klein I think your forgetting I'm still in the room." Kirito spoke with a scowl

"Nah Princess I couldn't ever forget you, especially since Agil and I are always by your side." Klein stated like it was an obvious fact, a goofy grin spread across his face throughout the whole time he was talking.

"Who are you calling princess?!"

"Except when we switch out with the other two guards…" Agil stated ignoring the pissed of response from Kirito.

"Aww come on Agil, stop one upping me!" Klein groaned annoyed.

Agil laughed, "It's not my fault you say stupid things so often." He stated quite bluntly to which Kirito could be heard mumbling something off to the side that sounded vaguely like "The idiot."

His insult was of course ignored not to anyone's surprise. His two guards were too busy bickering at each other to notice really.

Kirito groaned, if he had to listen to another one of these arguments… "Hey can't we go for a flight around town or something? I'm getting stir crazy here." He cut in before it could get worse.

The argument immediately halted as they turned to respond to the question "No." they both stated without a single hesitation or thought on the matter.

"You didn't even consider it…Why not?"

"Your mother specifically ordered us the keep you in your room today. She doesn't want you causing ruckus the day before your birthday."

Kirito rolled his eyes annoyed, "Yes because that makes sense..." he stated with heavy sarcasm leaking from every word he spoke. "But you know-"

"No." they both cut in

"You don't even know what I was going to say." Kirito dead panned.

"You were going to say something along the lines of: what she doesn't know won't hurt her." Agil answered bluntly.

Kirito's face deflated noticeably. "Ok, so you did know…"

"Honestly I fear the day you're named King." Klein stated with a shake of his head.

"I'm not going to become king."

"What?!" Klein screamed practically falling over in shock.

Always the dramatic one

"What do you mean you won't be king? You're the only heir." Agil asked baffled.

The land of Alfheim was doomed based upon his answer.

Both guards stared, waiting for his answer, Klein staying on the floor figuring if he fainted it would hurt less that way.

"I just don't want to."

Agil sat down on the floor next to Klein in exasperation.

Alfheim really was doomed.

The three were only allowed a moment more of silence before it was abruptly broken…

"Kirito!" a beautiful fairy woman called as she barged into the room.

Kirito looked at the woman in irritation. He loved his mom he really did but…

"Mom…why is it so hard to knock?"

She has this tendency to drive him nuts.

"Hmm? Why does it matter your never doing anything anyway?" the Queen asked with genuine confusion on her face.

Kirito's left eye twitched in frustration yet the rest of his face remained as stoic as ever, "I would be if you didn't keep me in here so often. But that…that's well beyond the point, just knock when you want in my room." She stared at him for a long moment, blinked, and then quickly backed up a step so she was directly standing in the door way and knocked twice. Kirito dead panned, "No mom, you're a little out of order there…next time do it before you even open the door."

She also wasn't the sharpest tool in the box

"Oh..."

"Ah geez how are you even running a country?!"

Well he lasted a whole five minutes at least

"Never mind that" She stated with a smile, "About your party I was thinking…" silence filled the room as she seemed to trail off from what she was about to say.

"What? You were thinking what?" he prodded when it didn't seem like she was going to continue on her own.

"Huh?" She stared at him uncomprehending what he meant.

Kirito just sighed, "You…you forgot didn't you?"

"Ah! I did! Oh and it was important too, I just know it was! But I lost my train of thought when I saw your guards on the floor. Why are they on the floor?! Did you do something? Are they dead?" Klein and Agil leaped to their feet as the queen rambled on; clearly she was well beyond flustered.

The Queen's sanity has always been an arguable matter since the king had passed away, especially when she was high in stress. She has always had a rather lively personality as well; add her strange anxiety problems and you really wonder how someone with such a colorful personality could give birth to such a stoic child.

Or rule a kingdom (something Kirito clearly wonders everyday)

"N-no milady we um… we were just-" Klein stumbled trying to calm her down.

The queen screamed instead, Kirito just casually plugged his ears with his fingers like this was nothing, after all he had seen it plenty of times before. Klein and Agil screamed in response only adding to the chaos. 'The idiots' was all Kirito had to think on the matter.

"Zombies! Undead! Help!"

"Oh dear…We really need to do something about her anxiety, it's bordering on delusional." Kirito muttered to himself unfazed as he looked around the room for something he could use to fix the situation.

"No you're mistaken, were alive! See!" Klein yelled over her in a desperate attempt to calm her down, of course him yelling only made it worse.

"Klein, don't yell at the queen you idiot!" Agil half shouted at Klein annoyed.

"I'm starting to get a head ache…" Kirito muttered as his eyes landed on the perfect thing to solve the noise problem. "Bingo."

"HEL-" Her sentence was cut off abruptly as large book collided with her face.

"Ow!" was all she said as she rubbed her nose and stooped down to pick up the book and glare at it.

"Mom, go drink a cup of tea and take a nap. They're obviously alive." The woman stared up at her son for a long moment before nodding in understanding, she really lost her cool there and she knew it.

"Ah…Sorry sorry, I was up all night filing papers; really you know my anxiety only gets this bad when I don't sleep well…" she mumbled embarrassed

"No, I'm starting to wonder if it's something else…" Kirito stated completely serious.

The queen frowned, "Very funny Kirito." She sighed, "However I think I'll take that suggestion of yours and catch some sleep, tea sounds rather nice right now too." She muttered more to herself than her son.

"Then why are you still standing here?"

She looked at her son again for a long moment, frown deepening.

"Honestly… you need to fine tune those manners of yours young man." She stated with a huff.

Kirito just rolled his eyes, "Good night mom." Was his only response

The queen's face softened up as she smiled, "Good night Kirito" before turning and leaving the room, closing the door behind her softly.

The two guards stared after her in disbelief, as Kirito flopped back on his bed with a sigh.

"You threw a book at her-" Agil started

"and she didn't react to it very much at all.." Klein continued.

"yet she scolded you for a little attitude." Agil finished.

They both turned to stare at the young prince in disbelief, only to find him passed out on his bed.

Klein just shook his head, "There is something very wrong with this family." He mumbled quietly.

Agil sighed, "Keep it up and you really will land in the dungeon, saying things like that about them." He chuckled.

"I can't help it if it is true though…" was Klein's only response.

* * *

**Human realm**

"Asuna! Wait for me!" Now eighteen years old, since a couple months back, Asuna turned around at the sound of her name being called, long coppery hair bellowing in the wind as she did so. She smiled, but that smile was quickly replaced with that of a look of confusion.

"Silica? I thought your school didn't get out for at least an hour more..."

"Yeah your school is way better than ours, but we got out earlier today!" the young girl by the name of Silica said with a big smile.

"Ah, that makes sense, how is school going for you anyway? You're a first year right?"

"Not for much longer!" Despite the difference in age and grade, as Asuna is a third year, the two were incredibly close. They lived right next door to each other since they were little kids and with Asuna's Mom always being at work and Silica living with her rather grumpy grandparents they quickly became each other's friends. The two had met about a month after Asuna's grandmother passed and had been like sisters since.

"Ah, you're right, there's only one week left till summer break huh? Well I suppose for me its graduation, I'll have to start looking into jobs and colleges and the like… Joy." To say Asuna wasn't all that excited was an understatement, she knew she would be spending an average boring summer alone in her house, as Silica would be staying at her family's summer house for most of the summer and Asuna herself was not very social. Not to mention she hated all the planning that one had to do for their future, in her opinion life was too unpredictable to be planned.

"You're just going to sit in your house and play video games all summer aren't you." Silica stated with a frown.

Asuna laughed, "Well do you have any better suggestions as of what I should spend it doing?"

"Yes, you should go get yourself a boyfriend." Was the blunt response

Asuna dead panned, of all things it was always that choice that Silica jumped to. It wasn't like she had all that much right to talk about it like it was a necessity either, seeing as she was lacking her own boyfriend.

She sighed, "I wish it were that simple but you know me, even if I managed to find a guy it would only end horribly."

"Not if you let down your guard a little, You hardly let even me in, if we hadn't met all those years ago I doubt we would have ever become as close as we are now or friends at all for that matter."

Asuna just sighed again, "Yes, yes you've made your point." she said in exasperation as they came to a stop in front of their houses, "I'll see you tomorrow." she said with a smile.

"Huh? Why can't we spend time together tonight?"

"I can't, my mom wants me to go through grandma's stuff tonight… She wants to start renting out her house." Asuna explained with a clear look of exasperation. Her grandmother's house was a rather secluded little cottage at the edge of a park forest, it seemed like something pulled directly out of a fairy tale, however despite its size it was jam packed with things which meant it would take a lot of effort to clean out.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Silica asked with clear concern.

"Which part, the cleaning or the renting?"

"The renting part." She answered.

"It does but it's unreasonable of me to feel that way, at the end of the day it's still just an empty house. Keeping it that way isn't going to bring my grandmother back so…I think it's for the best."

"Oh, I see…Well see you tomorrow before I leave ok? Oh and if you need any help-"

"No you have a lot of packing and planning to do, don't worry I'll be just fine." Asuna interrupted with a kind smile. Silica smiled back in sympathy.

"Well, if you say so…Later Asuna!"

"Bye Silica!" They both waved at each other before each heading into their own houses to get ready for the busy night ahead of them both.

Little did Asuna know that by the end of the week her entire world would be flipped upside down.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading I'll try to update frequently but no promises (I am in college so...) , Please review if you have the time, The more reviews there are the more motivated I will be so...See ya later**


	2. Horrible Parties and Horrible Fairies

**A/N: Just a quick explanation so you don't get confused; in this fanfic the fairies' wings never disappear like they do in the canon, they stay hidden under their shirts (or dress or whatever you know what I mean) and press tightly to the back so it's nearly unnoticeable… So this is chapter two (obviously), enjoy the chapter! **

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Chapter 2: Horrible Parties and Horrible Fairies

**Alfheim**

The party was grand, in its own delicate way, and it was absolutely not Prince Kirito's idea of a good time. Nobles and all the other richest of the rich fairies of Alfheim had arrived in their most expensive and froufrou ball dresses and suits, as well as with the snobbiest of attitudes.

"Kill me, kill me right freaking now." Kirito groaned as his mother fit the last finishing touches of the suffocating little devil she called a suit.

"Oh now, stop complaining it looks marvelous on you!" she spoke in enthusiasm.

"It's not black." Kirito stated, as he stared into the mirror at the bright red of the suit he had been forced into, as if this fact alone was enough proof that it was in fact awful.

"Emo much?" Klein mumbled from near the door to the room.

"Not funny Klein, you know I hate flashy things, and red is the very definition of flashy." Kirito whined, looking down right miserable.

"At least it's not white; you'd really stand out then" Agil added with a laugh at the thought of Kirito in white, it just wasn't meant to be.

"You look so handsome! Oh my baby boy is all grown up!" The Queen squealed in excitement.

Kirito just stared at her like she had gone mad, "I can't breathe." Was all he had to say on the matter.

"Ok!" His mom stated, completely disregarding Kirito's opinion of the outfit, with an enthusiastic fist in the air "We can't keep the guest waiting any longer!" She exclaimed as she marched out the door and down the hall. Three heads poked out the doorway to watch her leave.

"Wow… I can't breathe, I look like a clown, and my party is going to suck no doubt...will one of you please stab me?" Kirito complained.

"But she's so enthusiastic; she might have a panic attack if you pull anything, and what a shame it'd be if you die before you even get to eat all that good food." Klein added, Kirito glared at him while Agil just shook his head. He didn't even want to think about whatever crazy ideas must be floating around Kirito's head at the moment. He was bound to be thinking up some ridiculous escape plan as he did every year.

Kirito shook his head as if to recover from Klein's idiocy, "Oh? You can bet every single one of those snobby rich fairies in that room will have quite the heart attack…I'll make this party a night to remember." Kirito stated with an almost evil smile and an unnerving chuckle as he retreated from the door way and back into the room.

"Hey, aren't you a snobby rich fairy yourself?" Klein added as he followed Kirito back into the room, Agil soon after. Both of them were completely unfazed with the eerie warning spoken by the young prince.

"EH?! What are you talking about?! I'm not snobby!"

"Yeah that's what they all say." Agil said with a straight face.

"Right?" Klein laughed

"…and this is about the time I tune you both out." Kirito stated as he turned away from the two to start trying to get the horrid suit off himself, a task that was proving to be rather difficult with the way it was made. He scanned the room for something to assist with the problem, his eyes landing on a pair of scissors.

As the two guards continued to drone on and on about all the reasons why Kirito was in fact a snobby rich fairy, the sound of cloth ripping filled the giant room. The reaction was almost instantaneous:

"What the heck are you doing?! Don't rip up your suit Kirito!" Agil practically yelled in panic with a 'are you an idiot' look written all over his face as he reached forward to stop the teen. Unfortunately for him Kirito was fast enough to get out of his reach again as he continued to cut up the suit.

"Dude come on, your mother will kill us!" Klein added desperately, also trying to grab the teen, but by this point it was a lost cause.

"I'm not wearing this." Kirito deadpanned as he finished removing the outfit and threw it in the fireplace to burn. Both guards watched it burn in misery, they were doomed.

He put on his usual black pants and shirt and threw on a long black coat over it, making himself look semi -more decent, once he finished pulling on some long black boots he sighed in relief.

"Was that really necessary?" Both Klein and Agil stated with matching looks of exasperation.

"Yes. It needed to go, don't even try to tell me it looked halfway decent on me, that outfit was awful in every meaning of the word and you know it." He continued with a straight face as he made his way across the room towards the door before stopping to look back at his defeated-looking guards. It was his birthday, he should be able to wear what he wanted at the very least.

"That's not the point." Both guards stated tiredly. The prince could never make their job easy could he?

A long silence passed over them all before Klein finally nodded his head in understanding, as the more he thought about it… the more he had to agree with Kirito's actions.

"Ok, it probably was for the best that he burned the suit...Not gonna lie...and I really have to say; ruffles just aren't your style man." Klein continued while trying to keep a straight face.

"What? I thought it looked rather dashing on him" Agil added with thick sarcasm in his voice.

The two guards glanced at each other thinking about the suit again for a moment before simultaneously bursting into laughter. "Yeah laugh it up; my pain is just so hilarious." Kirito mumbled in annoyance, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"Kirito! Come on already, you need to come greet our guests!"

"Yes Mother I'm coming!" He called back, heading out the room.

After Kirito rounded the corner to where his mother's voice called from, his guards following closely behind him, a scream of panic pelted through the air.

"What have you done with your suit?!" The queen screamed when she finally saw her son.

Kirito just laughed in response.

* * *

**Earth**

"Honestly…How did she fit this much stuff in such a little house?!" Asuna groaned to herself in exasperation as she dug through yet another mountain of books. Three hours now she had been going through pile after pile and then cleaning up after each one, She was absolutely robbed of energy and the end was still nowhere in sight.

She picked up yet another book, flipped through it briefly to see what condition it was in, and then preceded to place it in the proper pile while reaching for the next, the repetitive process that was by now becoming very old. The book now in her hands was familiar she discovered, as she glanced at it with a smile and traced the outline of a fairies' silhouette on the cover with her finger. There was no mistaking it; it was without a doubt the book her grandmother used to read to her from when she was little.

As she flipped it open a piece of paper of fell out, reaching down with a confused look upon her face, Asuna discovered she was holding an average map of the nearby park only a couple minuets walk from the little cottage she presently stood in.

"Weird place to put a park map Grandma…" she mumbled to herself before noticing a random spot marked towards the right corner of the map and nearly illegible words listed on the back in her grandmother's writing.

_**OldGateway, Still closed,**_

_**Magic still evident.**_

Those were the only words to be found on the paper, those of which only made for one severely confused Asuna.

"What?" was all she said.

* * *

**Alfheim**

"How the heck did you manage to make the punch explode!?" The Queen screamed in frustration at the mess.

"A magician never reveals his tricks" Kirito stated with a goofy smile across his face, he was completely unaffected by his mother's rage.

"Well…they can all kiss their nice dresses and suits goodbye because they are absolutely ruined." Agil stated as he glanced about the room at all the fairies attempting to dab the stains out with looks of extreme frustration. A few of them who were daring enough, shot glares at the young prince to which he returned happily causing those daring fairies to not so daringly hide behind their closest companions.

"But you got to admit it was hilarious. I mean did you see their faces?!" Klein added with a laugh.

"This is not something to laugh at!" The queen yelled, causing both guards to flinch and apologize immediately. While the queen was busy going off on Kirito's guards, Kirito took the opportunity to do what he had been trying to do the whole night; sneak away. He never was one for attention and a party hosted over him was too much for his comfort, not like this was a new thing, his mother just got more enthusiastic with every year he got older. This enthusiasm made sneaking away early impossible and still a challenge later, however Kirito happily discovered on his tenth birthday that if he created his own chaos then the feat became much more possible.

And so we arrive upon exploding punch , among many other things not needed to be mentioned, and one angry Queen.

Kirito dashed down the halls with a smile as he raced towards the nearest balcony and leapt off with his black wings springing forth into the slits in his shirt, the silence of the night soon interrupted by the sound of a sonic boom and loud cheering. He was finally free and he knew exactly where he wanted to go first.

Not a moment later he landed outside a small blacksmithing shop to greet an old friend.

"Lizbeth?" He called as he entered the building. A girl with pink hair and smirk upon her face waltzed out from the back.

"You were here an hour earlier last time." She said as she casually glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Why do you count what time I get here every birthday? It's really weird..." Kirito asked as he sauntered over to lean on the counter before the girl with a teasing smile.

"It's simple every year you're exactly one hour later than the year before, I find it amusing and am just waiting for the day you break the pattern." Liz laughed.

"I'll break it once my mother stops being so obsessed about birthday parties. Are you finished with the swords I requested this year?" Kirito asked impatiently, excitement at the idea of them being done flashing across his eyes.

"I already told you I need about a week more." Liz replied just as impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah I was just checking…" Kirito stated disappointed but not surprised as he turned to leave.

"By the way Kirito, where are your guards?" Liz asked in concern, it was too risky for him to run around like that, completely defenseless. He is the prince of all of Alfheim after all.

"I had to leave them behind this time unfortunately."

"Don't tell me you don't even have a weapon?!" She exclaimed in panic, what was the idiot thinking?!

"No… I don't…" He answered sheepishly

Lizbeth just shook her head, "Grab one of those daggers and just give it back to me later. I won't have my friend waltzing around vulnerable to being attacked like that." She stated with a look that said it wasn't an option to refuse as she pointed to a specific table.

"Are you sure?" Kirito asked surprised.

"Yes."

He sighed before walking over to the table before picking up one random dagger and sliding it into a small pocket up his sleeve, easily accessible for the very purpose of self-defense. He genuinely smiled, a rare sight, as he turned to Liz and thanked her.

"Be safe and see you in a week!" Liz called with a smile as he waved in response before leaving.

"Well now that's out of the way…what to do..." Kirito mumbled to himself as he walked down the nearly deserted street. Except for a strange hooded fairy that stood leaning against a wall humming to himself and a couple, whose faces were also hidden, sitting on a bench he just passed, he was alone. For some reason they all made him feel uneasy though. He was just about to unfurl his wings and make for a quick exit when he suddenly felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. He whirled around to see the couple standing directly behind him with just their smiles showing.

"You're the Prince are you not?" They asked in synch, their voices void of emotion. A moment too late Kirito realized the humming stopped, and before he could pull out the knife, a strange smelling cloth clamped over his mouth and nose, he struggled for only a moment before his vision went black.

* * *

**Earth**

Asuna had spent a whole hour's worth debating with herself about what to do, before deciding that her curiosity was too great not to go see what her grandmother meant by the map. She quickly ran home, packed a flashlight, and anything else she would need for the hike before setting off to the park, she concluded if she waited till the next day she would not sleep that night. Somewhere in the back of her brain her thoughts warned her it was stupid and risky to go out hiking alone in a park late at night, but she was much too stubborn to listen.

It didn't even occur to her to leave a note for her mother, had she known what lay ahead of her maybe she would have.

In fact maybe she wouldn't have even left.

* * *

**Alfheim**

"Kirito?" The Queen called as she glanced around the party worriedly; he was causing trouble somewhere no doubt.

"Ah Evangeline, I must say this party has been…interesting." A voice sounded to her right. The Queen turned to the person speaking to her with a scowl, it was a certain snobby noblewoman who was always trying to weasel an arranged marriage with Kirito every chance she got. Eve or better known by the titles her Majesty, the Queen, or Mother, absolutely refused to allow such a thing to happen. Her son would marry a fine lady of his own picking when he felt ready, that was the one thing she vowed she would not let herself decide for him the day he was born.

"Clarisse, I don't have time for this, I need to find my son." She answered shortly before turning away and heading over to Kirito's guards, only becoming more worried when she noticed they seemed to be in a panic.

"Where is Kirito?" she asked the two, they both froze and turned to her wide eyed with terror. She had just finished going off on them before she had gotten distracted and dashed off only moments before. She would undoubtedly do it again when they answered said question and rightfully so since it was their duty to watch over the young prince, still to lie to the queen would be idiocy at its finest.

"We don't know." They both answered at the same time, obviously coming upon the same conclusion.

"You…What do you mean you don't know! You're his personal guards you should be with him at all times!" She screamed, silence fell over the entire room. "Roy, Come here I am in need of your assistance!" The queen called to her own personal guard and the general of the army, he was always so silent, many often forgot he was there.

"Yes your majesty?"

"I need you to help them find my son as soon as possible, the messes he gets himself into when he's on his own…" She shook her head as a distressed look briefly crossed her face, "Call all the guards to assistance; I want to see my son safely before me as soon as possible!"

"Right away your majesty." Roy answered with a bow before dashing off to command the entire guard into action.

"Your Majesty, isn't this overreacting a little? He's snuck out plenty of times before and on almost all his birthdays…" Agil asked.

"There are three reasons I'm about to panic: One the Salamander resistance has been more aggressive and active lately, can you imagine what they'd do if they got their hands on my son?"

Both guards eyes widened in horror.

"Two I have a really bad feeling, and three he has always took the two of you with him when he did sneak out. He is all alone, weaponless I assume and there are enemies that would just love to get their hands on him. What's more, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't he have a routine of checking in with the blacksmith every time he does."

"Oh shit…He's practically a sitting duck!" Klein panicked grabbing a fist full of his hair and tugging on it as if by doing so it will calm his panic. If Kirito got hurt it would be their fault for failing him and not being there for him in his time of need.

Before anyone could respond, the sound of laughter filled the room. Every fairy turned to glance up at a sight that made every single one of the fairy's blood run cold.

Two of the most powerful men in the Salamander resistance sat up upon one of the ledges that lined the wall, in decoration, smiling like they had just won the lottery.

The guards who were just stationed and about to go on the search for Kirito rushed forward wielding their weapons threateningly.

"I'd be careful if I was you." One of the men stated with a sinister grin.

"Yeah, one word from us and Prince Kirito is a dead fairy." The other laughed. The queen gasped eyes wide in horror. Klein and Agil didn't look too better off, the rest of the room seemed to go in shock.

"Where's Kirito?! What have you done with my son?!" The Queen screamed nearly in hysterics.

"Trion cast the spell." The first commanded, the other nodded his head before casting the spell "Moonlight Mirror" almost instantly an image sprang forth and there was Kirito, eyes wide in terror with a knife pressed to his throat. They stood right on the ledge of the cliff that leads into the drop known as the **Old** **Gateway**.

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry for the way to many point of view changes that's going to stop and become one point of view after the next chapter. If you have any questions feel free to ask (I'm cool with being PMed) and please review if you have the time.**

**Peace out **


	3. The Escape and the Strange Undine

Chapter 3: The Escape and the Strange Undine.

**ALfheim**

"Kirito!" The Queen screamed. Kirito's eyes focused in on his mother, a task easier said than done what with the after effects of being drugged still clouding his mind. He couldn't believe it, he had been a total fool leaving himself so unguarded and vulnerable. He might as well have taped a sign on his back saying: "Come get me", he thought to himself irritably as the cold steel of the knife began to bite into his throat. All remaining traces of disorientation and grogginess left his body at that moment, quickly being replaced with the adrenaline now beginning to roar to life in his veins.

Kirito took one brief moment to take the full situation in before looking his mother in the eyes, "Mom, Don't give them anything." Was all he said fearlessly, pride replacing any signs of the previous fear. He was no fool, it was clear to him that the resistance had no intentions of letting him walk away from this alive from the very start. He wasn't going to give them the power or satisfaction of using him to get what they wanted in the process.

"Shut up you little bastard!" The Salamander holding him hostage hissed, all the while adding more pressure to the knife against his throat, enough so to draw a few beads of blood.

Kirito gritted his teeth in frustration and annoyance, "I'm already dead." He stated to his mother with a note of grim acceptance in his voice.

His mother looked like she had a word or two to say on the matter but she chose to remain silent instead. Though she mouthed the words "Don't give up." and it seemed to strike a chord within the young prince because in the blink of an eye his entire attitude towards the situation changed.

The Salamander's holding him hostage kept up with their ridiculous threats and insults, so busy with their theatrics that they didn't notice the subtle signaling the queen had made to the soldiers in the room nor did they notice said soldiers sneaking out of the room. Probably to come rescue his ass, though the castle was three days flight from here, and no one he knew of but his late father had powerful enough magic to teleport an entire force that far.

He also doubted they'd wait three days to kill him.

If magic was out of the question that really only left him with two options:

The first was to save himself, which was the more appealing one.

The second was to die, because well the young prince was a realist if there ever was one and at the current moment he had no idea how he was going to manage to save his own ass seeing as the Resistance had him right where they wanted him.

Man, he didn't even know much about them other than that they hated Spriggans.

However he had decided not to give up, he refused to sit there and let his mother watch him die.

He's been through something like that, so he would know a person doesn't walk away from such a thing, if his mother watched him die he doubted she will ever be the same, which is if she ever even manages to recover from it at all.

That's when he remembered something essential to make option one possible; he fought back the urge to smile. Such a thing didn't fix the situation it just switched a small number of odds in his favor.

"Trash digging scum like you shouldn't be in power!" The Salamander hissed, his grip tightening on Kirito and rage flaring up in his eyes as he glared at the Queen yet at the same time he seemed to bask in their victory, so sure was he that they had already won.

Kirito fought the urge to roll his eyes at the fairy, what was the phrase this situation reminded him of again? Ah yes now he remembered; 'Don't count your chickens before the eggs hatch" or was it the other way around? Whatever the point was the idiots were so quick to celebrate they threw caution to the wind, exhibit A of their stupidity: They didn't check to see if Kirito was armed. He wasn't complaining though the fairy was providing the perfect stalling all on his own, all of them were really, no effort required on his part and they left him with some hope in the form of a dagger. All he had to worry about now was slipping his hand out of the ropes enough to access said dagger up his sleeve. A task easier said than done considering the way his hands were tied and that it was in a pocket _up his sleeve_, easily accessible his ass. He'd be having a word with the fairy who designed it later if he lived through this. Though the saddest thing about the situation was it took him this long to remember that he had a weapon up his sleeve and to formulate a plan to save himself in the first place. Kirito was embarrassed for himself, especially since his initial reaction was to just give up.

"A Mutt for a prince too! How disgusting…" One of the other Salamander's siting in the ball room added on with a scowl, Kirito couldn't remember his name, not that he cared enough to try to remember any of them anyway. They're names were unimportant and irrelevant to the current situation as far as he was concerned. He was a bit busy at the moment trying to rein in his all over the place emotions and escape as it was. Seriously one minute he was ready to give up the next he was determined, now he was just frustrated he couldn't reach the damn dagger. Even so the insult hit home, as much as he'd love to not be affected by name calling that one always got to him.

A mutt…It was a derogatory name to refer to those fairies that were born of two different fairy races, while you wouldn't think so, it was considered highly offensive.

Upon first glace Kirito may seem like any other Spriggan, however his abilities and personality often times would prove otherwise, if one were to watch carefully enough they would see he carried many of the traits of a Sylph Fairy, the very same race as his father; the late King.

'Well add that to the list of emotions I'm currently dealing with at the moment' Kirito thought to himself in frustration as he continued to struggle to free his hands. He decided this was officially the worse birthday he had had yet.

"So _your_ _highness_" the Salamander mocked, "Let's play a game. You guess what we want and give it to us and we set your son free, fair enough right?"

The Queen narrowed her eyes at the Fairy man, "What's the catch?" she asked fearful of his answer but not letting the fear show through.

"You have only four guesses you majesty."

"And if I get one wrong?"

"Your son pays for it."

Kirito froze for a moment; he didn't like the sound of that. The Queen's eyes were wide in fear for only a brief second before she reined her emotions back appearing stoic instead, though it was still clear she was panicking on the inside.

"Hurry up now or I'll just guess for you." The Salamander continued with a sadistic smirk.

"Bastard!" Klein yelled as he made to lung forward at the mirror.

"Klein stop you'll only make it worse." Agil said as he quickly grabbed Klein and held him back; He knew getting violent wouldn't solve anything at the moment despite his own rage. Besides it wasn't a portal, just a Mirror image.

The queen was having trouble thinking straight with all the things happening and her chaotic emotions.

"Tick Tock, _your Majesty_." The Salamander continued to mock

"Money?!" she guess practically panicking.

"WRONG~" the Salamanders all sang, before Kirito's piercing scream of pain filled the air.

No one could believe it, as Kirito grinded his teeth in pain and fought back the tears of pain begging to come out. One of his wings was now twisted and limp on his back, the monster of a fairy had went and broke his wing.

"Next guess, _your Majesty._"

"P-Power?!" The Queen guessed desperately as her façade broke and tears streamed down her eyes.

"Too vague." He called with a laugh as he broke Kirito's other wing.

Kirito bite his lip and muffled his scream as best he could into his own shoulder this time.

"Next time I'll rip out his wings." He stated much to everyone's horror, well everyone but the rest of the resistance.

Kirito fought the urge to panic as he desperately tried to work his hands free, broken wings can heal with time but if they are ripped out he will never fly again. Fairies wings don't grow back when they're lost.

Finally Kirito's hand were free, he silently cheered to himself as one of his hands gripped the dagger, adrenaline quickly tuning out the pain of his throbbing wings for him. There were five Salamander fairies in the area with him, this included the one holding him at knife point, two more were in the ball room most likely with teleportation magic in their hands, all Kirito had was a little dagger. He sighed at the realization that if he is to walk away from this alive it will be because of some unnatural but appreciated luck. Well, that's better than nothing Kirito thought to himself as he quickly elbowed the Salamander in the stomach causing him to release the pressure of the knife in surprise. As soon as the pressure was gone Kirito quickly spun around and drove the knife directly into the fairy man's heart. The Salamander just stared in shock at Kirito as he pulled the knife back out before falling right off the edge, his body deteriorating into flames as he fell towards the Gateway.

Chaos erupted in just a matter of seconds after the initial shock.

One of the other Salamander's cursed as he ordered the others to catch and restrain Kirito, the two in the ball room leapt to their feet ready to make their escape but in their shock they were too slow to react and were quickly surrounded by the Queen's remaining men, Klein and Agil taking the liberty of punching them unconscious. Kirito was about to lunge out again at the next member of the resistance within his range when the flames of the first dead Salamander hit the Gateway, the reaction was instantaneous and confusing as the Gate roared to life with a blinding beam of light shooting into the air as it opened.

* * *

**~Earth~**

Asuna stared at the strange structure before her; it was hauntingly beautiful and did not look like something made from the hands of humans. What's more was its timeless appearance, one could tell it was ancient and yet it was in tiptop shape.

"So this is the Old Gateway" Asuna spoke to herself as she stared at the arch like structure in awe wondering how no one knew of it. Granted it was well off of any of the paths and this was a big park with big trees to hide it. One could easily get lost in this forest just hiking so the likelihood that anyone would hike this way was next to none; there was nothing to hike over here for, except maybe an ancient giant secret gateway with "active magic" or whatever it was that her grandmother called it.

Asuna walked up the stairs to the platform leading to the giant arch that was what Asuna assumed was the actual gateway and the things uncreative name sake. Asuna stared at it for a long moment, it was really more like a big open door to nothing. She was just about to dismiss it as one of her grandmothers 'delusions' as her mother had always called them when she thought she could see a strange orange glow flickering in and out of view in the arch way, leaning forward to get a better view she tripped on her own feet and stumbled forward directly through said arch way just as the flame like glow hit the portal. Asuna was suddenly blinded by a white light before realizing that she was somehow falling, she looked down and screamed.

* * *

**~ALfheim~**

Of all the things going on, what really did it for Kirito was the girly scream above his head before he was suddenly somebody's landing cushion.

Then the awkward moment that came after as he stared at the strange fairy girl on top of him.

"Hey I'm in the middle of a life threatening situation, so… If you don't mind could you get off of me?" Kirito asked irritably. It didn't help that she just stared at him in confusion.

Finally she seemed to piece it together as her face turned bright red before she leaped off of him mumbling apology after apology. It was kinda cute actually; Kirito couldn't help thinking to himself as he picked up the dagger he dropped.

"For crying out loud will someone get that brat already?!" A Salamander screamed in rage.

Kirito quickly grabbed the girl by the hand yelling for her to run over his shoulder as he took off at full speed towards the nearby forest, she yelped at first before starting to run with him. 'Good, she's fast' Kirito thought to himself in relief, he did not feel in the mood to carry someone. That would only serve to slow them down and slowing down at the moment was an incredibly bad idea.

Kirito looked back over his shoulder quickly glancing at the girl, she was unique in appearance, not in a bad way though as he definitely found her attractive, it's just that he couldn't tell what fairy race she was. That in itself was bizarre seeing as it usually was obvious, then he looked at her strange clothes and was suddenly even more confused.

"Hey what fairy race are you?" he called over his shoulder. The girl stumbled at the question; she had been busy staring in disbelief at the twisted wings on his back.

"What?!" she practically screamed.

Kirito just took it as she didn't hear him properly and repeated his question.

"Um…Undine?" she answered after a long pause recalling something about races in the book her grandmother used to read to her, and saying the first name that came to her. She held her breath praying that she actually said a proper race. Something told her telling him she was human wouldn't go over well.

"Undine? Funny you don't look like one at all, but if you say so then I have no reason to believe you aren't…"

Asuna let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, "What about you?" she asked nervously going along with the conversation and distracting him before he continued to think on her "race" any longer.

"Hmm?" Kirito glanced back over his shoulder before answering, "Mostly Spriggan or at least I like to think I am…I'm a mutt…" he mumbled.

The girl looked confused; did she really not know what a mutt was?

"My mom is a different race from my dad, that makes me a mutt." Kirito explained as they reached the entrance to the forest and raced inside.

"Oh…" was her only response.

Kirito glanced back over his shoulder at her again, "My name is Kirito." He stated

She looked up at him, "Kirito?"

"Yeah." He confirmed with a smile over his shoulder, receiving a blush in response.

"Nice to meet you Kirito, I'm Asuna." She called back.

"Asuna…" He said testing the name on his tongue; it was a pretty name in his opinion, "Nice to meet you Asuna." He responded.

"Hey Kirito…"

"Hmm?"

"I just thought I'd let you know I'm a little lost here…"

Kirito just laughed.

* * *

**A/N: Weeee~ third chapter done.**

**Did you like it? Great tell me all about that in your review. Thanks to all those who have already reviewed, faved, or followed! Your all awesome!**


	4. The Lost woods Alfheim style

Chapter 4: The Lost woods Alfheim style

"OUCH! Stop stop stop stop STOP!" A pained yell invaded through the quiet forest.

"Kirito we have to get your w-wings back in place!" Asuna paused hoping he didn't catch her stutter, when all she received was a pitiful whine from the...so called fairy, she continued, "You don't want them to heal all wrong right? Besides we've wasted enough time arguing about letting me touch them as it is. So just sit still and let me bandage them." Asuna stated with a huff, it was truly a good thing that she held on to her bag on the way in, and with it the first aid kit she packed.

"First off aren't you an Undine? Your race is supposed to be super talented at healing magic right? …So why the basic first aid crap? Secondly you'd be super paranoid about other fairies touching your wings if someone almost ripped them out too!" Kirito responded through gritted teeth, clearly aggravated and very much so in pain. The two of them had finally outrun the resistance members a couple hours ago, but they had to run for hours to accomplish such a feat, leaving both of them absolutely exhausted. Now they were in the middle of an unfamiliar forest by both their standards and neither had a clue as to how to get to the nearest town or if there even was one within a reasonable walking range.

Not that they really had a choice but to keep walking even if there wasn't one.

In such situations Kirito normally would have just flown above the trees to gather his bearings, good lord he wouldn't even bother walking in the first place but instead just fly his ass out of there, but that was not an option for obvious reasons…When he suggested to Asuna that she should do so, she had listed off weird nonsensical reasons as to why she couldn't. Though the weirdest part to Kazuto was the strange shock and anxiety the question had seemed to bring up for the fairy.

"Remind me again why you can't just fly up there and figure out where we are?" Kirito questioned with irritation.

"umm…I have a magic disorder and I'm scared of heights?…" Asuna squeaked pathetically, not at all convincingly hence why Kirito kept asking. They were really just going in circles at this point. All kinds of circles: circles around each other's questions, circles around the resistance trying to kill them- or really just him...though they might kill Asuna just for the sport of it. He wasn't an expert on what they did with their free time so he wouldn't know.

But really the circle he hated the most was the one he was almost positive they have been going in throughout the forest for the past couple hours, that weren't spent running for their lives, until they finally decided to take a break.

"Is there even such a thing as a "Magic Disorder"? It sounds like something a human would come up with, they seem to like making up disorders, if the books in my family's castle has any truth to them." He answered with a snort, crossing his arms as if he was making some important argument and just won.

Asuna laughed in response, it was a rather black and white view on the matter but it held some truth which made it somewhat amusing to her, "Of course it exists and I happen to have it, Ok?" She stated the rhetorical question with false irritation. "I'm done with your wings by the way…"

"Ahh…thank you." And there it was; that smile he did when she first met him only a couple hours ago, the one that made her heart feel like it had stopped.

"Asuna? Are you alright?" his concerned voice almost seemed to echo off the trees, and next thing she knew he was much too close for her comfort reaching out a hand to check if she was unwell. Right before his hand almost reached her face, she smacked it away with a false scowl, on the inside her heart was racing a million times a second. 'Honestly this is all too much, where has my logic gone, or for that matter when the hell do I get my reality check? Is this really real?'

"I'm fine thank you."

"You don't seem to b-"

"Did you say something about a castle?" She interrupted effectively changing the subject.

"Oh…yeah, I'm the prince…future heir to that god awful throne."

"Um…" the poor girl really wasn't sure how to respond to that, "That's quite the way to put that…What kind of throne?"

Kirito stared at her in awe for a long moment. Ignorance was bliss for the occupant and a nuisance for everyone else who encountered them. Really, was that even a question?

"What? You want me to explain the entire government system to you? Didn't you go to school? Have you been living under a rock your whole life?" Kirito stated half sarcastic and the other half amazed that she had managed to survive this long.

Purposefully ignoring the jabs at her pride, Asuna got up and dusted off her pants before walking towards one of the many trees surrounding them, making sure to pick one large enough for two to lean against side by side.

"That would be absolutely wonderful if you could, thank you for offering." She responded with a dangerously sweet voice as she settled against the tree, it was a voice that clearly stated to men that their lives were at risk and to make for an escape as soon as possible. Too bad that just wasn't an option for Kirito.

'It's been a short and boring life' he thought to himself over dramatically as he crossed the clearing as well and took a seat next to her against the tree to accept his fate.

Now Kirito knew he was exhausted, he was making stupid jokes in his head that weren't even close to funny.

"Well, let's see…where to start?"

"The beginning." Asuna stated as if this should be obvious, it was obvious in fact.

Kirito just sighed, "Well…I guess the obvious thing to state would be that it's a Monarchy."

"Right…and you are the heir to this monarchy?"

"Damn you really have been living under a rock." Kirito stated with a roll of his eyes while shaking his head like he was scolding a child for poor grades.

"The commentary on my life is not necessary Kirito." She responded in kind with a glare.

Kirito was amazed to find her glare could definitely compete with his; there really was a first for everything. Subconsciously he wondered what horrid experience she had to have been through to gain it, after all no one was born with glares like that.

"Fine fine…Yes I'm the heir to the throne." He answered with a dismissive sigh.

"And...Just how much power does this Monarchy have exactly?" Asuna continued to question, curiosity slowly lighting up her eyes. This really was a whole other world, a place where things were frighteningly different and yet in some ways similar. Actually if she was honest with herself the only similarities she had witnessed were in language and that the so called fairies looked for the most part like humans.

Then again she hasn't been in here for very long.

A small part of her wondered why she wasn't more concerned about finding her way back home, but upon further thought Asuna realized it might have been the fact that there wasn't really much waiting for her back there. She decided she could just figure it out as she went.

"A lot." He finally answered his face a vision of exhaustion, and he wasn't even ruling yet.

"So you're running this entire country?"

"I will be some day…If I live that long." He mumbled none too excited.

"…What's this country again?"

Kirito whipped his head in her direction immediately, looking at her with blatant disbelief. How could someone not know the name of the country they live in?!

"Unbelievable, are you serious?!"

Asuna yelped at his outburst, "Don't yell at me! It was a legitimate question!" she responded in frustration.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice, but… really where have you been going to school?" He spoke mostly rhetorically as he brought a hand down his face in exasperation. "Because I need to make sure it closes down, ASAP."

"Will you just tell me already?" Asuna nearly growled. He really was making this a lot harder than it needed to be. Well in retrospect she shouldn't be surprised, he did say he was royalty.

"Alfheim, the country is called Alfheim."

"What's the class system like?"

"Just how many more questions do you have up your sleeve?" Kirito spoke sounding utterly exhausted.

"This would be a lot faster if you just answered my questions instead of spending ten minutes each whining like a baby." She bit back, glare of annoyance strong as ever.

Though in reality the glare didn't quite work right on Kirito because all it did was intrigue him. It was a weird form of relatable material to him like; 'Hey you can glare? So can I!'

"You have my family; the Monarchy, then there are the upper class nobles, followed by the lower class nobles, and ending with the common civilians."

"I see-" Asuna was about to ask more questions when a particularly cold breeze blasted at the pair, causing her to shiver violently. "Do you know how to build a fire per chance?"

"We are absolutely not building a fire."

Asuna was about to protest for a moment when the obvious reason dawned on her, "Oh right…people trying to kill us…or more like you, which would indirectly screw me over…" she shivered again before grabbing her bare arms and starting to rub them like it would make much of a difference.

Kirito sighed for what seemed like the millionth time now, before shaking off his long black coat and practically tossing it on her.

Asuna pulled it off her head and stared at him surprised.

"What? I won't have you freezing to death on me now." Kirito answered with a mask of indifference to the situation, looking anywhere but at the girl staring at him.

"Thank you, but...What about you?" she smiled genuinely, concern quickly took the smile away though, much to the Spriggan Prince's disappointment, it was a sight to see and completely worth freezing to death for in his opinion.

Nights were hellishly cold during this time of year in Alfheim.

"I'll be alright; we fairy-men are not so weak as to let something as small as cold weather bring us down!" Kirito joked sarcastically before smiling, "I'll live." He continued more seriously.

"Bull-crap. We will share." Asuna answered in a short commanding tone.

All Kirito could do was stare at her before shaking his head, "It's one coat. There's no way that will work"

"It's one very decent sized coat, and we'll just have to sit close is all." She replied stubbornly as she scooted over till her body was pressed against his and then she proceeded to drape the coat over them sideways. "There." She stated as if everything was perfectly fine.

Silence, very _very_ awkward and uncomfortable silence filled the clearing.

"Well…G-Goodnight" Kirito stated so badly wanting to run to the other side of the clearing, but fear of offending the gal and freezing to death kept him glued to the spot.

"Y-yeah goodnight…" she replied and silence once again feel over them both.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Asuna, wake up."

"Five more minutes, mom."

"I most certainly am not your mother, I'm not even a girl damn it!"

"Kaaay~ have a nice day at work mom~" she continued completely oblivious.

Kirito really was at a loss for words here, he's been trying to wake the sleeping girl up for the past ten minutes. Not only did he want to get moving and find the nearest town before next night fall, but the girl was sleeping on his shoulder like there was no tomorrow and he was starting to feel uncomfortable again. It was a miracle that either of them fell asleep in the first place, what with how uncomfortable they had been with being so close last night.

"Ok well I tried waking you up nicely." He mumbled to himself as he jumped forward causing Asuna to face plant the ground marvelously.

"What the heck!" she yelped leaping to her feet (very much so awake now) only to falter as she looked around, it really wasn't a dream…She was really in another dimension where fairies exist.

A snicker brought her attention to the fairy standing nearby. The glare she sent his way only served to make him more amused with her reaction. In a weird way he was kind of starting to love that glare.

"Hey, I tried to wake you up nicely but you just kept calling me mom and sleeping on." He continued with a laugh.

Asuna turned bright red, "Well whatever, it was still mean." She mumbled.

"Meh." Was his only response, "So…How well are your tree climbing abilities?" he continued casually.

"What the heck does that-"

"To scout out the nearest town…possibly…" He interrupted as if the answer was obvious.

"Why can't you-"

This time the interruption came from a guttural roar filling the clearing and making both of their blood run cold.

Kirito lunged forward so he was protectively in front of Asuna as he pulled out his dagger and readied himself for the large troll charging their way.

Cursing under his breath, he turned to Asuna," Maybe you should start climbing that tree now…" He stated his face stoic.

Asuna just shook her head, "I suck at climbing trees, do you have another weapon?"

"If I had another weapon do you really think I would choose to use a tiny dagger against a giant troll?" Kirito stated half sarcastic and half irritated as he swiped in a long horizontal sweep towards the Troll which only served to piss it off more at the seemingly tiny little paper cut on its belly. Anyone could clearly see Kirito was at a big disadvantage here; he was unable to fly (which was like breathing to a fairy) and he only had a little dagger. Most of the time something as simple minded and clueless as a troll would be so easy for him to take down he'd barely bat an eye…but the odds weren't in his favor this time.

The troll on the other hand was perfectly fine as it towered over them and wielded a very big wooden club. Not to mention it was very clearly pissed and probably hungry as well. It's only disadvantage was its stupidity, which was only so helpful…

'We are so screwed.' Both teens thought to themselves as it raised it's club over its head aiming at them while letting out yet another roar.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to all you wonderfull people who have Favorite, Followed, and or Reviewed; I love you all! **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please don't be afraid to tell me what you think! :D**


	5. Past Pains and Rescuing Cousins

Chapter 5: Past Pains and Rescuing Cousins

The Troll roared another guttural yell as it raised its club over its head poising to strike down the two beings at its feet.

"Asuna?" Kirito started his voice deadly calm

"Y-yes?" she stuttered in fear but still managed to respond.

"Run to that big tree over there and hide behind it." Kirito commanded as he pointed to a random tree at the other end of the clearing, he needed her out of harm's way fast. He had the sinking feeling that this fight wasn't going to go over well.

"What about y-"

"Now Asuna, Run!" he yelled impatiently cutting her off as the troll begun to swing its club down, hitting only the empty earth below where the two had once stood.

Kirito gritted his teeth before leaping forward and stabbing it in the leg to stop it from pursuing Asuna, who was currently dashing like a madman across the large clearing towards the tree as fast as her legs could carry her. The troll roared again in annoyance before swinging its club down to smash Kirito; however it only hit the empty ground again as it felt yet another stab on the back of its leg.

It swung around using momentum to speed up its slow pace and hit Kirito; yet again missing as the teen had already leapt away, leaving the troll to almost lose its balance when it didn't hit its target. As it stumbled for a moment the teen took the time to catch his breath before dashing forward again to continue his bombardment of attacks.

Yet the damage to the troll was far too small, like pricking your finger on a needle…its rage only growing with every stab. Kirito had no idea how long he could keep this up but he knew if he didn't effectively take out the troll soon…No..he didn't want to think about that.

It was starting to seem like they just leapt out of the oven and into the fire, a bunch of puny fairies out for blood seemed a whole lot more inviting than a giant troll at this point, at least in that situation the dagger was useful.

The troll slammed the club on the ground again, the resonating bang making Kirito's ears ring as that time he was barely fast enough to avoid the hit, resulting with it only being an arm's length off from hitting home.

An idea flashed across Kirito's mind in that moment as he kicked off the ground into a leap and landed on the creatures arm before it could even take the time to lift it back up for another swing. If he could just get to the neck…maybe he could take this thing out.

The troll bellowed out a low screech in frustration as it swiped at the fairy, much like a person swatting at a mosquito on their arm. It failed to hit its mark though as Kirito was far too fast for its sluggish mind to keep up with as he ran at top speed towards its shoulder, as soon as he was there he plunged the dagger in the side of its neck.

He was horrified to realize it wasn't deep enough to cause much damage at all; in fact it was practically no more than an annoying thorn in the side of its neck. Kirito practically growled in frustration as he tried to pull the dagger back out only to find it impossibly stuck. His eyes widened, what the hell was he going to do without any weapon at all?! He was already having trouble with just a little dagger as it was.

The troll screeched in annoyance as it punched Kirito off its shoulder before he could figure out what to do or react. The punch sent him flying across the clearing only to crash into one of the many large trees near Asuna.

Asuna hated being useless and helpless in any situation, especially a situation such as this, but the girl had never lifted a weapon in her entire life, and even if she had; there were no weapons for her to wield as Kirito had very clearly stated all he had was the little dagger.

The dagger which was as of now stuck in the trolls neck as it fumbled around for the moment trying but failing to pull it out with its chubby fingers.

"Kirito!" she screamed as she dashed to the tree he had crashed into, only to find the limp form of the Spriggan prince on the ground and unmoving. She moved forward in alarm, taking him up in her arms in panic, "Kirito wake up, please wake up!" she cried desperately. Not only did she not want to see harm done to her new and only companion in this strange world but even more so that troll would only be distracted for so long before it gave up on removing the dagger, and then what would they do? Asuna couldn't fight it; she could barely manage to run half a mile in gym before she was out of breath let alone take down a troll.

She started to drag the hopefully just unconscious fairy with her behind one of the trees to hide, hoping against hope that the creature just wasn't smart enough to find them when they were right under its nose.

Leaning him against the tree she looked at his face for only moment, "Kirito wake up!" she tried again more quietly as she wiped the blood streaming down the side of his forehead away in panic, before placing her head against his chest to see if his heart was still beating.

It was faint, but it was there, much to Asuna's relief. However they were both still very much in danger and Kirito's condition could only get worse at this point.

The troll roared as it finally seemed to realize it wasn't getting the dagger out; it was stuck in its neck and the creature was so very pissed about it. It began sniffing the air like a blood hound trying to relocate its prey, growling in rage at what's been done to it and hungering for both a meal and payback.

Asuna's kicked up a whole new speed in terror.

Could it smell them out?

It turned its head to the tree and almost seemed to stare directly into her eyes as she peeked around the tree to watch for its next action, if that wasn't enough of an answer for the girl…

It growled as it began to make its way to the two, dragging its club behind it. A beastly smile spread across its ugly face, its prey was truly cornered and it knew it.

Asuna began to really panic as it drew closer and closer.

'What do I do?!' Her head seemed to scream to its self over and over again like a mantra as it continued to become closer and closer. She couldn't run and leave Kirito behind, and she certainly couldn't out run it with an unconscious Kirito dragging her down.

WHAT DO I DO?!

"Kirito! Kirito! God, KIRITO PLEASE WAKE UP!" She screamed tears running down her face as she shook her companion desperately. He wouldn't wake up.

A loud crash and suddenly all that remained of the tree they were hiding behind was splinters. Asuna looked up in alarm; shaking like a leaf…deciding that if by some miracle she gets out of this alive she's learning how to fight.

It was finally towering over them raising its club.

This was it, they were about to be smashed to death…this was how they would end. Asuna stared up at it as it prepared to bring the club down on them; she was frozen and so very scared. Trembling she hugged the unconscious Spriggan to her chest, burying her face in his hair for comfort. She didn't want to look; she refused to watch her own death.

Silence filled the clearing as she waited with bated breath.

But instead of being attacked, the troll suddenly screamed in pain as it staggered sideways. She looked up immediately in confusion.

Asuna eyes only widened as she watched a flash of green hit the troll causing it to careen the opposite direction than what it had been previously swaying towards, no the "flash"...it was a "someone" instead…another fairy?

Either way they were so fast her eyes couldn't really follow their movement; she just hoped whatever or whoever it was… was friendly.

One last hit and the troll came crashing to the ground before the being who took it down landed nearby.

It _was_ a fairy.

A girl fairy with long blond hair tied up in a ponytail and mostly green clothes. She turned, green eyes meeting Asuna's wide and tearful ones.

"Are you alright?!" She practically yelled in alarm as she raced towards the poor girl.

"I-I fine but…but K-Kirito" she managed to stutter out as she began to wonder if she was going into shock. If not for this fairy…they would both be dead right now.

The fairy girl took one look at the Spriggan in her arms before her eyes widened in disbelief, "Cousin!" She cried in alarm and concern as she knelt down to take in the damage dealt to the young prince.

Asuna was baffled. Cousin? Was this a strange tradition of fairies to call each other cousins or…was this girl actually related to Kirito?

To further add to Asuna's confusion the fairy began to chant strange words before a flash of green seemed to cover Kirito, when the green cleared Kirito seemed to be in better condition, but only by a bit…

While that was alarming she was all out of shits to give after almost being killed by a troll, Asuna was pretty sure she was in shock.

"Um..w-who are you?" Asuna started her voice shaking at first but steadied once again by the time she finished talking, "-and what did you just do?" she finished off in tired curiosity.

The fairy looked up at Asuna and smiled kindly, "My name is Leafa, I'm Kirito's cousin from his father's side" she paused as she looked down at Kirito for a moment as if deep in thought, "I haven't seen him in years though… and to meet him here of all places" she mumbled more to herself before looking back up to eye Asuna curiously, "You are?"

"I'm Asuna… you could say I'm a new friend of his."

Leafa nodded, "I cast a weak healing spell on him, but I'm afraid that's the best I can do… there's a city nearby where we can find a more proper healer…" She trailed off as she took in the sight of his broken wings, frowning, "Did the troll do this to his wings?" she asked in concern as she examined the handy work of the Resistance.

Deciding to ignore the magic bit for now, Asuna just shook her head, "Someone else." Was her only answer. Not that she could really answer anyway seeing as she wasn't quite sure on the whole story herself.

Leafa just nodded in response, though the look in her eyes clearly stated that she would get a better answer on the matter later, "Can you fly?" she asked.

Asuna froze before shaking her head no.

Leafa only frowned confused but she didn't question it, her main focus at the moment was getting her cousin to a proper healer, she'd worry about everything else later. She pulled one of Kirito's arms over her shoulder and hoisted him up so she could support his weight, Asuna took the other arm.

"Looks like we're walking then." Was the only thing she said as they began to move forward slowly.

"Leafa?"

"Hmm?" the fairy gal turned her head curiously towards Asuna.

"Thank you for saving us." Asuna said with a genuine smile.

Leafa just smiled back before simply stating two words, "Your welcome."

* * *

"_Kirito!" A Sylph fairy, most likely in his mid-twenties -early thirties, called as he entered the little boy's room with a large smile stretched across his face, "Wake up kiddo we got things to do today!" _

_The little boy opened his bleary eyes to look at the fairy before him for only a moment before a wide smile stretched across his face._

"_Daddy!" He practically screamed in joy as he leaped out of his bed and raced into the man's arms._

_The sylph fairy laughed at his son's antics, scooping him up and lifting him high in the air, receiving a fresh batch of giggles from the little boy as a response. After lowering him to just hold him in his arms he smiled again, "Guess whose birthday is in one week?" he spoke, smile only growing._

"_Mine, mine!" The boy yelled excited all over again._

"_Yes it is!" his father yelled back with a laugh as he proceeded to start tickling the boy, whose giggling increased tenfold._

"_Now guess what we're going to do today, because of that?" the father continued placing the boy back on the ground._

"_Learn to fly!" Kirito yelled again, hopping up and down with his smile only growing the more his father talked._

"_Yes we are, so get ready for the day so we can head out." The father said as he turned towards the door._

"_Kay~!" the boy replied as he raced over to his dresser._

"_Kirito, don't forget to brush your hair and teeth young man" He called over his shoulder, pausing at the door to hear his son's reply before leaving once he heard a small "I won't!" from the little boy._

_His son was always so happy and bright; he doubted he had a negative bone in his body, were the thoughts of the king as he walked away._

_How unfortunate he didn't know that that innocence wouldn't last beyond the day._

* * *

Kirito blinked his heavy eyes open with a groan and turned his head to take in his surroundings, only to find himself lying on a small bed in an unfamiliar room.

"Kirito?" Kirito looked to the other side of the bed to find Asuna curled up in a chair and smiling in relief, "You're awake." Was all she said.

"Where are we? And how did we get here?" he asked, his voice sounding dry like he hadn't spoken in years.

Asuna got up and opened the curtains covering the window on the nearby wall, allowing Kirito to see the green city beyond it.

"Swilvane? We're in Swilvane?" Kirito just groaned, "That just means the journey back to the Floating City will be ten times longer then I originally thought." He whined.

Asuna looked confused as ever.

"You know…the Floating City? The capital city of Alfheim? Where the royal family's castle resides?... You're hopeless." Kirito finished as Asuna continued to look at him blankly.

"Why is it called the Floating City?" she asked in curiosity

"It's on top of the world tree…it's a giant tree. You have to fly to get up there." Kirito stated bluntly, "So how did we get here?"

"Your cousin."

"My…Cousin?!" Kirito's eyes widened as he immediately sat up, only to fall back over when a wave of dizziness hit him. "My cousin? Leafa?! Where is she now?!" he asked in panic as he tried to get out of bed again.

Asuna walked over a pushed him back down, "Don't get out of bed, you need more rest… and she's making dinner."

"Did she sound pissed off when she saw me?" Kirito asked anxiously while looking up at the girl.

"No… she sounded worried…why?"

"Because I purposefully avoided her for years…and I'm sure she knows it." He mumbled looking away guiltily.

"Why'd you do that? She seems like a really nice girl…" Asuna asked with a puzzled look.

"I didn't want her to see how I changed after my father died."

The two sat in silence for a long moment before finally Kirito broke it again.

"We used to be really close when we were kids… then my father died and I guess you can say I was never able to just go back to being the way I was…I used to just smile and laugh all the time…" he spoke a look of reminiscence written across his face.

"Really?"

"Yeah…hard to believe isn't it?" he laughed, "We used to play out in the castle gardens all day together, just being kids…"

Asuna smiled at thought, "Well, You know…I think she'll understand if you talk to her and maybe even apologize…" she said as she sat down in the nearby chair again.

"You think so?" Kirito asked after a long pause.

"Yeah." She answered confidently.

After that a comfortable silence seemed to fall over the two for the next hour or so before they heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Hey Asuna, Dinner's read-Kirito your awake!" Leafa spoke with a bright smile upon entering the room.

"Yeah…" Kirito answered awkwardly in return.

Leafa's smile faltered for only a moment at the lack of words between them, it was to be expected though she supposed, she sighed to herself as she turned to leave, "Well then join us for dinner as well…its ready." she said over her shoulder.

Kirito flinched at the hurt in her voice "Hey Leafa…" Kirito called to stop her before she could walk out the door, she turned back to look at him curiously. He smiled at her for the first time in years.

"It's good to see you again." Was all he said.

The smile that stretched across Leafa's face couldn't get any bigger as she enthusiastically nodded her head.

"Yeah…It's good to see you too cousin." she said as she practically pranced out of the room elated.

"Told you." Was all Asuna said, after watching her leave, with a playful smile, Kirito just smiled back in response.

"Yeah…You know what Asuna?" he began

"What?"

"You're not so bad after all." He said, his smile growing.

"Hey! Just what is that supposed to mean?!" Asuna called back at that remark, Kirito just laughed, Asuna joining in after a moment of trying to fight off the temptation to.

After they had both gone quiet again; she got up from the chair with a shake of her head before looking back at him still smiling, "You're not so bad yourself, Kirito." She called over her shoulder as she left the room before he could respond.

* * *

**A/N: That's all folks! For now….anyway thanks for reading! And leave a review on what you think plz :D have a nice day~**


	6. The Broken Prince

Chapter 6: The Broken Prince

Sweet awkward slightly uncomfortable silence…and scraping forks on plates…

What a wonderful dinner.

Leafa cleared her throat in attempt to break the silence as she glanced at the other two seated across from her at the table, a gaze that was of course returned as they waited for her to speak.

"So….um…Kirito, cousin…what have you been up too all these years?" She finished lamely as she looked back down at her meal praying for it to just come to life and swallow her already…this whole dinner has been nothing but awkward.

Kirito frowned, while it may have seemed like he broke the ice between them earlier just before coming down stairs…the fact of the matter still remains: They haven't had any sort of contact with each other since he was around eight years old.

They were practically strangers, and it was his entire fault.

"Well….not much… mostly sitting around, making others life's hard, playing pranks, or the rare occasion of actually listening and doing as my mother tells me…yeah… that's about it. It's been boring."

Asuna turned and looked at him in disbelief, "You openly admit to disobedience and making others life's hard?"

"Sure why not, it's the truth after all." Kirito answered almost sounding disinterested in the matter.

"I don't know if I should be amazed or disgusted…" she answered with a shake of her head before continuing to eat.

Kirito just chuckled at the statement, not even taking a moment to defend himself… It's not like she really cared…no one ever did.

"You should be vaguely disgusted. That's a horrible way to abuse your inheritance, position, and responsibilities Kirito. As the future king of this land…you can't play games forever you know." Leafa responded as she put down her fork and glared at Kirito with disappointment. She had heard some interesting rumors about the Prince and his antics, but she had hoped that was all they were.

"And just who gave you the right to lecture me about my life, Leafa. Stay out of my business." Kirito responded in turn with a death glare of his own as he put back up whatever walls he may have just broken down earlier…maybe built a couple extra ones too.

How stupid of him to try and be open, he had left himself vulnerable…Others weren't worth trusting. He already knew this and yet…

He really wanted to be able to believe in someone…just once, and not have them turn around and break him more or spit in his face with their judgment.

"I'm your cousin; I have every right to-"

"Oh please, you and I both know we're as good as strangers!" Kirito spoke raising his voice as he stood up from his place at the table and slamming his hands down upon the surface. The half empty plates of food crashing to the floor as they were practically sent flying by the spriggan's massive strength.

The awkward dinner, the uncomfortableness, the past memories hanging over their heads, the judgments, the tension…It was all too much for the prince, he was tired off all this hell and was ready to just be home tucked in bed without a worry in the world except to satisfy his boredom.

He looked about ready to strangle poor Leafa as they both continued to glare at the other. Just daring the other to try something, or say something.

Asuna stood up before grabbing Kirito by the arm and dragging him out of the room with her, "Thank you for the dinner Leafa, were going out." She announced before heading to the door, "She's only concerned you know…" she added quietly with a slightly irked expression.

Kirito just scoffed then crossed his arms and allowed himself to be dragged away. It was probably for the best he left the room anyway…It'd be a real shame if he killed his cousin...besides Asuna also seemed to have quite the iron grip, his poor arm was going to bruise at this rate.

Asuna growled and resisted the urge to turn around and kick him, "Kirito promised me he would show me around town." She explained/ lied to the blond who had followed them in confusion as to where they were going.

"But...but Kirito isn't all that familiar with Swi-"

"We'll be back later." Asuna called ignoring the girl as she continued to stutter and stare at her completely lost.

Asuna just smiled warmly in response before opening the door, tossing Kirito out like a sack of flour, and closing the door behind herself.

"That hurt dammit!" Kirito yelped as he quickly jumped back to his feet, "I just recovered from an injury you know!" he continued in annoyance.

"Oh, you'll live." Asuna responded walking past him without concern, she was a tad bit pissed off with his behavior at the moment.

Kirito practically growled before following after her.

The two walked down the street silently, Kirito just a few paces behind Asuna with his hands shoved into his coats pockets. He stared at Asuna's back for a moment wondering why he was even following her in the first place, when he noticed something different and incredibly obvious.

"You changed your clothes, they're not those weird pieces of cloth anymore." He mumbled as he took in her white and red outfit silently…She fit it very well, though he'd never admit it out loud.

"Weird pieces of…." She repeated confused before trailing off, "Wait you just now noticed this? It's entirely different from what I was wearing before and you just noticed now?!" Asuna continued in disbelief as she turned to stare at him, how idiotic and oblivious could this guy get?

Kirito just shrugged before looking her up and down. He shrugged again and turned his head to watch a couple kids nearby play sword fight.

Asuna dead panned, only one thought rolling across her mind in defeat.

'Men.'

Shaking her head she turned to follow his gaze…

For a couple minutes nothing was said as the two just watched the kids play before Asuna was reminded of a promise she had made to herself.

"Kirito…"

"Yeah?"

"Your know how to fight….right?" she continued as she turned to look at him with determination in her eyes.

Kirito met her gaze with uncertain confusion, "Yeah…" he answered as he tried to figure out where this was going.

"Teach me." Asuna demanded.

Kirito just stared at her for a long moment before comprehending her words completely, "Eh?!"

* * *

"_Alright I think that's enough for now, let's take a lunch break!" The Sylph King said with a smile as he ruffled his son's hair._

_Kirito smiled and shifted from one foot to the other trying not to bounce in his excitement, "How'd I do, Dad?" He asked eager to know if his flying had improved any._

"_You did wonderfully!" His father cried as he scooped him up and spun around earning a joyful laugh from the boy in his arms. "We can try some more after lunch, but I'd rather we didn't. I don't want you to over work your wings…These are new muscles you're working with here, Kirito." He continued after pausing in his spin and looking at his son with a stern face._

_The little spriggan huffed as he wiggled in his dad's arms to try and get free, "I can take it, I can take anything!" He yelled determined as he leaped down to the ground looking smug that he got out, unbeknownst to him his father had just let him go to humor him._

"_Take anything? That's a dangerous way to think son. You should never look down on your opponents." He lectured, only to find that his advice was falling on deaf ears as his son was already across the clearing and digging through the picnic basket. He sighed before smiling and decided to let it lie for now._

"_Kirito save me a sandwich, I want one too!" he cried as he rushed forward when he noticed his son had practically started to inhale them. Really his son loved sandwiches way too much._

"_Your majesty, we need to talk." A voice sounded behind him._

"_Ah, Jonavi…I'm spending time with my son. Can't it wait?" The king responded when he turned to face the general of his army. The man had a couple other soldiers standing behind him; something about them seemed off though…_

_The king shook his head; he was just being paranoid… Jonavi was an old friend of his; there was nothing sinister about him._

"_No…I'm afraid it can't…Forgive me your majesty." The man spoke in a broken tone as he pulled out his sword, "They'll kill my family if I don't." he finished as he suddenly charged forward with a yell._

_The king's eyes widened before he dodged the attack, the other two charged in with distorted smiles as they tried to slash at the king._

"_Daddy!" Kirito cried as he stood in panic, people were attacking his father? He didn't understand…people liked his dad, he was a good king. So why? Why were people attacking his dad? Why did they look like the soldiers that were supposed to protect them?_

_One of the soldier's smile grew disturbingly as he noticed the look of panic cross the king's face, the king was an incredible fighter…but there was no way he could fight all three of them at once and still manage to protect his son. He charged towards the little boy, weapon raised and ready to kill. _

_Kirito cried in alarm and stumbled backwards receiving a cut to his forehead that would have been stabbed through his head had he not moved. _

_The soldier laughed gleefully as he swung again, just barely missing the boy as he fell backwards. "Hold still ya stupid mutt." The man spoke, his twisted smile somehow only growing, it was almost like his face would split in half. Serving its purpose in terrifying the poor prince even more, how blood thirsty did one have to be to smile like that in the face of murder?_

"_Kirito!" The king cried as he disregarded the other two attacking him and charged to save his son, only to be stabbed in the back. The king stumbled for only a moment before moving forward again, swinging his sword behind him blindly in attempt to hold them off till he could reach his son._

_He didn't care for his life when his son was in danger._

"_daddy!" the boy cried as he watched his dad get stabbed again in his mad dash towards him. _

"_Stop, and surrender!" came a yell as guards rushed into the clearing wielding their weapons._

_The general dropped his sword immediately as he raised his hands in surrender, he knew his men's capabilities…he knew the fight was over as his second and command rushed forward yelling to arrest them all._

_The other soldier cried out in anger as he disregarded the weapons and soldiers surrounding them, he rushed forward towards the wheezing king who had fallen to his knees a couple feet away from the young prince once he realized his son would be saved._

_The guards cried in alarm, and attempted to stop him…but the blade had already been plunged through the king's chest by the time they took him down…plunging right through his heart._

_Kirito screamed in horror as he watched the whole thing, blood oozed down his forehead from the deep cut, but more alarmingly so his father's blood was also now splattered across his face. To Kirito it burned like acid…almost as if to say 'It's all your fault'_

_Kirito screamed again as he hands flew up to his face to violently wipe at the blood, scratching at his face in the process. The boy wept in horror and grief as black spots entered his vision, he was unconscious before he even hit the ground._

_The other soldier near Kirito was taken down immediately after when he refused to surrender and attacked the nearest soldier._

"_Someone get the Queen!" the second in command cried as he realized their King was truly dead…_

_And their Prince was officially broken._

* * *

Kirito cried in alarm as he bolted upright in bed and began to wipe at his face in horror, he could feel the sting as he scratched up his face brutally and warm blood oozed all over in response. He didn't stop because to him he was only focused on the imaginary blood of his father burning across his face.

"All my fault!" he cried hysterically over and over again as he kept scratching.

"Kirito? Kirito!" a cry of alarm came from near the door as he felt someone grab his wrists and pry them away from his face.

At first he fought to keep scratching and wiping, but when he realized that whoever it was that was stopping him wasn't going to leave him be… he gave up and just cried.

"Leafa!" the person hollered alarmed as they took in the damage to Kirito's face.

"Asuna? What's- Kirito! Asuna watch him, I'll go get the healer." Leafa yelled panicked as she rushed down her stairs and out the door.

Asuna started to shake in concern, "Kirito what happened?" she spoke voice sounding like she was about to cry.

"It's all my fault." He cried again as he attempted to wipe at his face again.

Asuna yelped in alarm as she tightened her grip on his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face again.

Kirito was hysterical…did he even know who she was right now? Asuna decided it was best if she didn't talk to him right now, lest she trigger something else…

Unknown to all but the queen and her guards; there was a reason why Kirito's guards have always been positioned inside of his room instead of outside it…

If anyone were most likely to hurt the prince…

It'd be without a doubt the prince himself.

* * *

**A/N: When I first started writing this chapter I was like "I think I'll try and make this chapter fluffy…" Nope it went to messed up and dark in the blink of an eye…maybe I need therapy? Nah. **

**Anyway that's chapter 6, Sorry for the wait…I hoped you liked it and please leave a review :D see you probably in another month…sorry I'm so slow at updating stuff **


	7. Someone Special

**A/N: Sorry it seems I'm always late in updating but alas I have one too many stories going for me, and I swear I have ADD. I going to college next month, which I'm thrilled about, if my updates slow down even more then…I'm sorry. Now you will know why at least. Anyway Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Someone Special

"How is he?" Leafa questioned the healer as soon as he exited Kirito's room.

The healer merely sighed before answering, "He's ok, I gave him a strong sedative so he's out for now."

"His face?"

"Completely healed, there won't even be scarring." The healer answered calmly.

"Do you know what caused him to act like that?" Asuna, who had until that point been sitting silently on the floor by the door with her back against the wall, spoke.

"Young lady I am no expert in the problems others have in their minds, I heal what's only physical. However if I had to guess I would say that it is some form of emotional trauma." The fairy stated as he headed towards the door, "Keep a close eye on him, he seems to have the wonderful knack of injuring himself." He finished as he opened the door and turned back to acknowledge the two young ladies one last time.

Both nodded determinedly, "Thank you for coming out here this late at night; we really appreciate your help." Leafa stated quietly, she knew for a fact the she had woken the man from what could have been a good night's rest. He was a bedraggled mess when he answered the door to her frantic pounding.

The healer merely hummed in response before closing the door behind him, leaving two girls in a heavy silence.

Neither knew where to go from there.

Asuna sighed after a long while before quietly heading back towards Kirito's room, careful not to wake him.

"I'll keep watch of him for tonight, you should get some rest." She whispered back to the blond from the doorway.

Leafa wanted to protest but she knew she had work tomorrow, whereas Asuna did not. She couldn't afford to lose anymore sleep than she already has or else she'd be falling asleep out in the field, in other words the monster infested areas in which her and her group, among many other groups, were in charge of taking out if and when they became a problem.

The monsters out there would just love that, free food.

She nodded before making her way back to her own room silently.

Asuna watched her go down the stairs before turning back to the sleeping boy in the room; she shook her head in concern before pulling the chair from the corner of the room over until she was seated right next to his bed.

It felt like she was back to square one, Kirito injured and in a bed and her sitting and waiting for things to get better.

But this time it was worse, much worse…

This time his injury was in his mind not his body, and no one but him could fix such a thing.

It was a scary feeling to realize she was absolutely helpless to helping someone, especially since that someone had spent time helping her.

And he was her only support in this strange world, she supposed she could rely on Leafa but for some unknown reason she wasn't as comfortable with that.

She just felt safest with Kirito, which was absolutely bizarre seeing as she barely knew him at all.

But really there was just something about him…

* * *

"Asuna? Hey wake up." A soft voice called as she felt someone poking her face.

Asuna jolted awake vaguely realizing that the voice belonged to Kirito, looking around she found herself curled up into the chair, though her head must have been resting on the bed.

When she looked towards said bed she found her eyes locked onto another pair, the intense gray making her pause for only a moment before it registered to her: Kirito was awake.

"Kirito! You're awake! How are you feeling?" she questioned concernedly, restraining herself from tackle hugging him in relief.

"Why wouldn't I be ok?" He questioned back as a response, looking genuinely confused.

"Last night-"

"I went to bed, nothing happened. You're acting weird." Kirito cut off; looking at her like he was still a little confused and even a bit concerned at Asuna's behavior.

Asuna just stared at him in shock for a long moment, "You don't remember?" she inquired in a near whisper.

He just stared back at her in irritation trying to hide the growing concern, "Remember what?" he asked in false exasperation as he slowly climbed out of bed on the other side.

"N-nothing."

He paused and stared at her genuinely worried, she really was acting weird. "Fine then…why were you sleeping in my room?" he questioned in return as he stretched his arms over his head and yawned before mumbling under his breath, "Creeper." When he looked back over at Asuna again to see how she would react he smiled, now she was acting more normal.

Asuna didn't answer as she was currently busy trying to learn how to magically make blushes disappear. Her face was putting tomatoes to shame.

"T-t-that's not it!" She squeaked in embarrassment before leaping from the chair to march out of the room. "You're stupid Kirito!" she screamed from the hallway.

Kirito just stifled a laugh before going about getting ready for the day. Hey, maybe she had a crush on him and that was why she was acting so weird.

A smug smile stretched across his face. He didn't exactly know why, he's had just about any and every girl of the kingdom fawning over him at one point or another and he hadn't really cared but instead almost felt annoyed by it, but the thought of Asuna having a crush on him strangely pleased him.

* * *

_After her husband died the queen was at a loss, however she had no time to grieve as her son was falling to pieces. _

_She feared that at this rate he would soon join her husband in whatever awaited those after death._

_He would not eat, barely drank anything, and sleeping…he did not sleep. _

_No it was horrid nightmare after horrid nightmare, and when he would awake they would have to stop him from hurting himself. _

_On the least worst of nights he'd just attack his face with his own hands, something they could easily fix by holding back his hands and getting a healer._

_But on the worst of nights…_

_Those haunted the queen's own dreams._

* * *

"Here I made breakfast."

"You didn't poison it did you?"

"Shut up and eat, before I change my mind and throw the food away."

"NO! Not the food!"

Asuna just shook her head as she sat on the other side of the table to witness the lovely sight of Kirito inhaling his food.

"Don't you have any table manners? You're a prince for crying out loud!"

Kirito merely paused for a moment before swallowing, "Sorry, this is surprisingly really good."

"I hate you." Asuna responded mostly joking as she glared at him yet at the same time she almost wanted to smile at the semi-compliment to her cooking, "What's surprising about the fact that I can cook?"

"Um…You aren't patient, you aren't gentle, you-"

"Ok I get it; you're a jerk with a low opinion of me, now shut up and eat so we can go already." Asuna interrupted in annoyance, her eye twitching in contained rage, never mind smiling she really wanted to punch him now. However last night seemed to change her overall outlook of him, before she would just be thinking he was a spoiled jerk, but now…now she knew there was more to it.

Kirito just chuckled, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I already did, why you were taking your sweet time getting ready."

"I couldn't help it; I kept getting this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something big…"

Asuna twitched in her seat uncomfortably, she wanted to tell him but at the same time she had this feeling that it wouldn't end well.

"Not like I'm not used to the feeling…" He continued oblivious to her internal turmoil.

"Used to it?" she questioned in concern.

"Yeah, I wake up feeling that a lot in the morning."

* * *

_After every night of keeping the prince from destroying himself, the young boy would wake up like nothing happened. _

_He never remembered the night before._

_Although sometimes when he managed to injure himself enough that it couldn't completely heal over night, he would question the queen on his strange injuries. _

_He never got an answer; the queen would just start crying._

_After a while he stopped asking, just accepting it as a normal part of his day to day life._

_He hated seeing his mother cry anyway…_

_She was all he had left._

* * *

"So where are we going anyway?" Kirito questioned as he allowed Asuna to drag him down the street. He had a cloak on with the hood up to hide his face. He'd like to find a way to contact his mother, but he feared that might also give his position away. Unfortunately she would just have to wait till he got home.

"This big secluded backyard to this old abandoned mansion, Leafa told me about..."

"Why the heck are we going there?!"

"So you can train me, without anyone seeing us."

"Fine but I won't teach you to fly…" He answered as a peculiar expression crossed his face, too fast for Asuna to catch it.

"That's fine by me!" She answered happily, she didn't have wings anyway.

* * *

_He had long since stopped smiling, he still ate like a bird, and the nightmares continued to haunt him but his awakenings seemed to have toned down a lot more, much to the relief of the queen and the many guards watching after the boy._

_He trusted no one but his mother, and even she was kept at a distance. _

_He did not laugh; he didn't express much of anything. _

_He just glared, scaring many away. _

_Most ran because the look in his eyes spoke of a sad wisdom that should not lie in the eyes of one so young, and when he set those hostile eyes upon them…it felt as though he could see right through them. _

_Just one look into said eyes and the queen knew he'd never be the same._

_He used to glow, smile, laugh…there hadn't been a single ounce of hostility in his body._

_He had changed almost beyond recognition._

_But the thing that scared her most was her seemingly accurate fear that he would never smile truly again._

* * *

"Leafa should be getting back soon." Asuna broke the silence as she stared, at the rock sitting on the ground before her. Kirito sat a little ways away leaning against an old tree; they had been like that for quite a while. She was pretty much just humoring him, she knew the rock would never move.

"Yep, now make the rock move already. I don't care how as long as it's with something else other than your hands , preferably before I'm old and dying."

Unfortunately for her Kirito thought she needed to learn magic first which was obviously entirely impossible. She thought that she already made that clear with the whole 'magic disorder' card. With a smile, as she thought over his words more analytically, she kicked it.

Kirito just glared at her.

"You said anything other than my hands." she giggled.

"Yeah I know what I said, but that's obviously not what I meant." he shot back annoyed.

"I'm telling you magic is impossible for me, teach me how to fight." She responded just as bluntly.

They both glared at each other for a good five minutes before Kirito huffed in annoyance. He got up and dusted his pants and shirt off before sending her another good hard glare.

"You're a horrible teacher." Asuna added just for kicks, it's not really his fault she was human. But it was his fault for just sitting there drawing with a stick in the dirt while she just stared at the stupid rock for a couple hours. She was pretty sure at some point in there he even took a nap.

"Fine, you want to learn to swing a sword and suck at everything else, be my guest. It's your funeral."

"No its not, I'll always have you!" Asuna joked falsely batting her eyelashes and making a point to draw out the 'always'. She even opened her arms like she expected him to run into them for a hug, though that wouldn't end well seeing as she was still sitting on the ground.

Kirito stared at her as if he was horrified, "I wouldn't hug you if you were the last fairy on the planet." he snorted. Something was off about how he responded, it was like his heart really wasn't into it, though it escaped Asuna's notice.

Asuna dropped her arms to her lap with an over dramatic and very fake hurt expression across her face, "You wound me." she added for good sarcastic measure.

However instead of getting some witty sarcastic remark in return as she had expected, she found that Kirito was weirdly silent for a moment as he seemed to contemplate something serious, whatever it was it had Asuna curious, did she say something too weird? However his expression quickly returned to its soured state once again before she could really question it, making her wonder if she had imagined it.

"Ok weirdo, we'll start with the swords tomorrow." He stated bluntly but then he hesitated for a moment, opening and closing his mouth as if debating whether or not to voice his previous thoughts before seeming to come to a decision, "And for the record; I'll have your back, if you have mine." He spoke turning his head so he wasn't facing her, as if nervous of her response.

That was certainly uncharacteristic of him, and yet she felt like she was seeing something rare… Did her joking that she'd always have him actually effect him, did he take that seriously? In a sense she had been serious, she really did believe he'd always have her back if she needed it, though she didn't know what started such a belief. Now he just confirmed it all the more, much to her surprise.

and yet not that surprising at all...

His walls, if only for a moment, just seemed to have completely come down. Now he stood before her vulnerable waiting for a response to his words. At this point he had even turned to look her in the eyes again, not uttering a word as they both just stared at one and another, minutes ticking away without their awareness.

She just nodded her head, "Sound like a deal to me."

It was almost funny to Asuna how in that moment she could almost feel the relief floating off Kazuto before he quickly covered it up.

"Great. Um...remember swords tomorrow" He spoke like he wasn't sure what to say now, quickly he tried to recover himself again and walked past her like nothing happened.

"Hey at least help me off the ground, jerk!" Asuna called after him lazily.

He just turned and surprised her with a smile.

* * *

_With time the prince became more mischievous, and health seemed to return to him._

_He was a grand actor; he seemed easy going and content. If not a little scary to some…_

_But the queen knew better, she stopped him from hurting himself every other night._

_The prince was miserable._

_Only someone special could ever change that._

* * *

'I've never seen him smile like that before' was all Asuna thought as she followed him out the yard.

* * *

**A/N: Oh man I thought I'd never get that thing done! Ok look at that…it was sort of fluffy…Right? Riiiight? Anyway sorry again for the wait, I hope you liked this chapter! **

**Please review if ya got the time! See ya later **


	8. The Oblivious Type

A/N: Ok someone, I'm sorry I don't remember who, mentioned how the way Kirito suddenly said "I'll have your back if you have mine" was a bit sudden, and I re-read that whole section of the conversation and decided the whole conversation needed to be fixed so I pretty much re-wrote it, from the moment Asuna is staring at a stone to the moment Kirito smiles differently. So it may be in your interest to look back at it so you're not confused. But if you're like me, you just re-read that whole chapter to spark your memory of what happened last before reading every update, and because it took me an un-godly amount of time to get to updating, I have no words for my shameful existence.

I also edited the crap out of past chapters, chapter four was practically redone.

**For those who often skip over the A/N what I just said above is informative on my story and may be in your interest to read. I even un-bolded it to trick your eyes to read this sentence so you'll know. :D**

* * *

Chapter 8: The Oblivious Type

"Hey Kirito?" Asuna started as she looked over at him from across the table while they ate breakfast together, it was morning and thankfully there were no repeated trauma attacks the night before for the young prince. Though Asuna worried that that was just luck and she had even taken to checking up on him throughout the night. It was a miracle that she got any sleep at all, she really worried for his health.

"Hmm?" was his only response.

"Are there Libraries?"

Kirito stopped eating and stared at her bemused, "Is that a question that they exist or where the nearest one is? Because you're wording it like you're unsure libraries exist."

Asuna laughed sheepishly, "Right…um…Where is the nearest library?"

"Heck if I know, you should have asked Leafa, she's the one who lives here." He stated bluntly before returning to his meal. "Why? Do you want to go to one?" he spoke in-between bites.

"Well yeah, obviously." She responded almost sarcastically. Wow, he must be rubbing off on her, she used to be much more polite and proper and what the heck?! He's a prince he should have been the definition of polite and proper!

But no, instead he's just a sarcastic pain in the ass.

"Why?" he continued finishing his meal and ignoring her attitude, he liked woman with a little spunk anyway.

"Because..."

Because she wanted to know more about this world, because she wanted to find out how to get home, because she remembered her grandmother talking about how there was a sad story as to why fairies and humans don't interact and she figured she might want to know why, because as a human being it was in her interest to know more about fairies so she doesn't risk her life and do or mention something stupid that a fairy wouldn't, because she wanted to know if it was stupid to ever tell him she was human…

The list seemed endless really.

"Because?" he pushed when she trailed off and seemed to get lost in thought.

She jolted like she was surprised before smiling sheepishly.

He just frowned in concern, "Your acting weird Asuna." He stated with a tilt of his head, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh no…not at all, sorry I just spaced out, no big deal. I want to go because I want to brush up on my history is all." She stated with a fake smile.

"Uh-huh…" he spoke unconvinced.

"Really that's all there is to it."

"Right…seems like a big waste of time if you ask me." He said still not believing her but going along with it anyway.

"Well…It's important to me." She responded with a glare.

"What about sword training?"

"We'll do it in the afternoon."

"Why are you always deciding our schedule?"

"Because heavens know if you did; all we'd ever do is eat and sleep."

Kirito just laughed, he was well aware that he was a rather lazy person. He never was one to deny his flaws, in fact he found that by openly acknowledging them often times it would throw people off and make them prone to manipulation.

Well he'd admit that's rather horrible of him but as royalty; his life was all about manipulating people in his favor. It was how all higher ups function, the society was built off of it.

So it was funny to him how this girl had him, for once in his life, jumping through hoops.

He found it even funnier that he didn't mind all that much when it was her doing it. Anyone else and he would have been at their throat…

She did strange things to his head.

"Fine we'll find the library and waste a perfectly good afternoon of our lives just to satisfy your scholarly needs, your highness."

"That's rich coming from a Prince."

Ok…She had him there.

"And we can't sit here forever, we need to move on and figure out what to do next."

"I need to get back to the castle and help stop the resistance."

"It's 'we' not 'I' and is the resistance the people who were trying to kill you?"

"Yeah that would be them…" Kirito answered as he stared at her in awe, 'we' huh? For some reason the made him really…happy?

"Kirito why are you smiling?"

He was smiling? He never smiled unless he decided a smile was needed in the situation at hand… It was a thing of manipulation not an expression of emotion. He tried to straighten his face out to something more casual and controlled but the corners of his mouth kept twitching back up and he found it was hard.

Holy crap he was really smiling and he couldn't make it go away. When was the last time he had this problem? He couldn't, for the life of him, remember but it felt good.

It felt really _really_ good to just smile.

"Seriously what is it?" Asuna questioned though a smile of her own had crept on to her face, she failed to see what about the conversation was smile worthy but she found Kirito's smile contagious. More so she felt there was something special about the smile, just like she felt the other day when they were leaving and he had done the same thing. It was different, it was real.

"We?" He finally spoke with a soft voice.

"Yes of course, I have your back; you have mine, meaning that _we_ stick together." She answered finally understanding what made him smile. She was starting to find out more and more that he wasn't the stuck up spoiled prince she had originally thought him to be. Well actually, as much as she hated to admit it, her most original thought of him was that he was attractive.

She blushed at the memory, it was only a couple days ago yet it felt like weeks ago, she felt different, they were both different like the more time they spent together the more they changed. Not to mention that he was still attractive, that hadn't changed…

Kirito felt heat rising to his face as they both continued to stare at each other, he could see she was blushing and if the heat he felt in his face was any indication…he was too.

Immediately he stood from the table, "Let's go find that Library." He spoke quickly as he nearly jogged to the door.

Asuna agreeing instantly, following behind him at a comfortable distance

* * *

It took them two whole hours of running aimlessly around town and asking strangers questions before they found the library, at one point Asuna could have sworn that they were just going in a giant circle.

Though Asuna learned something new today about Kirito during their giant detour; his wings were a handicap to his sense of direction… He's spent too much of his life relying on his ability to just take flight the moment he didn't know where he was.

Hence the two hours' worth of searching, even with directions from multiple different people. It was bordering on pathetic actually and she was pretty sure he knew that because he was in a very grumpy mood by the time the two of them stood on the doorsteps to the library, sweaty and exhausted from the whole fiasco.

"I've decided I hate libraries." Kirito mumbled under his breath.

"Oh, woman up." She shot back almost instantaneously, come to think of it she might be borderline grumpy herself.

Could anyone really blame her though? She certainly wasn't wearing the best shoes for constant walking; it felt like her heart had decided to relocate down to her feet as they were throbbing so much…

"No, I quite like being a guy so-OW! Why did you have to hit me?!" He whined as he nursed his head.

"Sorry, muscle reflex." Asuna responded with a false smile, not sounding apologetic at all as she finally entered the building.

"Oh I'm sure it was." Kirito shot back in sarcasm, and if looks could kill Asuna would be dead already. "Anyway, what are we here to read about again? Wait no you didn't say…I bet I could guess it though."

Asuna rolled her eyes, shooting a glance back at him that spoke volumes of how little she thought of his little games. A look that the prince conveniently ignored, go figure.

"How about the time when Fairies first came to this land?" He started with a confident smile.

"No, not it." Asuna responded right away as she came to a stop just past the entry way to the building, not quite sure where to start looking for the answers she seeked.

Kirito's smile only faltered for a moment before he quickly recovered, "Ok, then how about the first fairy to discover the magical properties in fairies and study it?"

"Wrong again." Asuna denied a second time with a chuckle.

Kirito looked like he was done with his own game already, "How about the time when we first discovered orcs?" when he got yet another negative in response he huffed in irritation, those were all very famous parts of history… what else would she be interested in randomly learning? "Ok I give up, seriously what part of history are we going for?"

"You give up already? Wow, Kirito that's just…really sad. I want to know about what happened between Fairies and Humans." Asuna responded with a small smile as she looked around at the many ridiculously tall shelves full of books. Wait, where are the ladders? How does anyone get to the books- Oh right, wings…

Asuna paused when all she heard was continued silence, 'Weird Kirito hasn't said a single thing since I responded…it's been long enough that he should be firing back some stupid yet witty remark by now.' She turned around to question him about it only to find him staring at her oddly.

After another couple minutes of just staring at one another, Kirito spoke, "Asuna, anything to do with humans are a taboo, so you're not going to find anything here. Why you even _want _to know about them is beyond me."

Asuna stared at him in shock and before she could stop herself words were slipping out of her mouth, "Do you hate humans? If you met one, would you kill them?" She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her for not stopping the questions from leaving her mouth, but that's not what bugged her the most.

What bugged her the most was her reasons for asking them, it wasn't for the sake of figuring things out so she could go home like it should be. No it was her looking for approval; she wanted Kirito to tell her that he didn't hate humans, that he didn't hate what she secretly was. She wanted to know that she could tell him and everything would be alright.

"This isn't the place to have this conversation, others are staring." Was what she got instead before he was suddenly gripping her arm almost painfully and practically dragging her out of the place.

He continued like that all the way down the street, all the while Asuna kept tugging on her arm, trying to get him to let her go because Kirito was a strong fairy and it seems he has forgotten to watch his strength.

"Kirito!" She called out with a wince.

Yet no response was given, just a continuation of the heavy silence that fell between the two ever since the word 'Human' slipped from her mouth.

"Kirito, you're hurting me!" she finally shouted.

Immediately he let her go and quickly turned around to face her with wide eyes when that caused her to accidently fall to the ground. "Asuna-" He spoke, with his voice heavy in guilt.

Asuna glanced up at him from her place on the ground, quickly hiding her wrist from his sight; she'll go to the healer about it when he goes to bed tonight. In the meantime he doesn't need to know…

"I am so so sorry, I panicked, and I needed to get us out of there. A couple of the people there looked like they were going to notify someone or something and with everything that has happened I'm a little paranoid…" Kirito continued, he sounded like he was ready to have a panic attack about the whole thing.

Before Asuna knew it, Kirito was knelt next to her on the ground with a look in his eyes that spoke of untold amounts of worry.

"Are you ok? Let me see your wrist." He practically demanded as he reached his hand out for her wrist.

"No it's fine, really, you don't have to worry." She answered in a panicked voice.

"Asuna, give your wrist." He nearly ordered, his own panic starting to mix with the worry in his eyes.

When Asuna shook her head again as a refusal, his outstretched hand dropped to his side and his hair seemed to hide his face as he looked down towards the ground.

"How badly did I hurt you?" he spoke, his voice painfully soft.

That did it for Asuna, as she immediately offered him her wrist with a cringe.

Kirito looked up at her offered arm for a moment before his eye's widened and he gently took it in his hands.

It was a kind of gentle Asuna had never seen come from him, and never guessed she would see.

"I sprained it, it's sprained…I really hurt you." Kirito finally spoke, his voice heavy with emotion.

"No, Kirito its fine, we'll just go to the healer and it will be fixed. It's nothing." Asuna responded in a rush, she didn't like that look on his face.

"Aren't you in pain?" he questioned quietly.

"No I think it's in shock."

"I'm sorry, I hurt you and you're the only one that-" Kirito paused mid-sentence, like he said something he shouldn't have.

"I'm the only- what?" Asuna questioned quietly.

"The only one the matters to me…" he mumbled, wishing she wouldn't hear and give up. However he knew she had heard the moment he glanced at her face and saw her staring at him with wide eyes.

They both sat there staring at one another for a long moment, this time the silence felt much more awkward than it did heavy or tense.

"It's been a long time since I've allowed myself to really care about anyone, and I've only known you for what? –a week? Isn't that sad? But I can't stop myself from caring when I'm around you, there's something special about you and I can't figure it out." Kirito finally explained.

"Kirito-" Asuna started to say but stopped abruptly when she discovered she didn't know how to respond, not really…

"Never mind that, we should get you to that healer…" he spoke quickly, almost like he thought that if he spoke fast enough she would forget all about what he had just said before that.

But Asuna knew she wasn't forgetting those words anytime soon.

Then he surprised her even more, something she didn't think possible at the moment, when he scooped her up in his arms like a princess.

"K-Ki-Kirito?! I can walk!" Asuna stammered, her voice so high in embarrassment it was practically a squeak.

Of course Kirito completely ignored that comment, cradling her close in his arms like she was the most precious thing on the planet.

* * *

The healer took one look at the pair on his door step before rolling his eyes.

"Seriously? What is it with the lot of you getting injured all the time?"

"Um…" Kirito answered so very intelligently.

"Can you please tell him that even though my wrist is injured my legs will still work just fine because he refuses to put me down, in fact he wouldn't even let me ring the doorbell!" Asuna stated in a sad attempt at irritation when really she just looked a little embarrassed at the fact that she was still tucked carefully in Kirito's arms.

"Oh please, you liked it." Kirito jokingly responded with a smirk.

"You're full of crap!" Asuna immediately shot back, her face turning bright red.

Kirito stared at her for a full minute before smiling in satisfaction, "Blushes don't lie." Was all he said.

"Ok well, whenever you two love birds are done flirting…" The healer interrupted their banter with a flat look.

The response he received was instantaneous, "We are not flirting!" both Kirito and Asuna practically shouted.

"Yeah sure whatever you say…" The healer said, voice heavy in sarcasm, "You might as well come in, so a did I hear correctly that your wrist is injured?" he spoke while looking at Asuna for affirmation.

"Yeah, we think it's sprained…" Asuna answered.

"Ah, well that's an easy fix." The healer responded as he pulled out a chair for Asuna to sit in, "Though you are going to have to put her down young man."

Kirito made a show of acting like he was relieved at the notion while gently putting Asuna down in the chair, "Good, she's heavy."

"Excuse you; you're the one who refused to put me down! I didn't even need to be carried."

Kirito just looked away at Asuna's response, pretending like he hadn't heard her, typical boy.

"I suspect he just liked doting on you, we men do weird things when we are in love." The healer spoke casually with a smirk.

"Lo-LOVE?! I'm not in love! I merely felt bad ok?! Stop implying crap!" Kirito practically exploded, while Asuna just sat in silence blushing.

The healer just laughed, "Oh so you're the oblivious type." He stated like it was fact.

The rest of the time with the healer was spent with the two blushing, stuttering and yelling…the afternoon that lead them there being completely forgotten.


End file.
